saloon

American  

[suh-loon] / səˈlun /

noun

saloons plural

1. a place for the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks.

2. a room or place for general use for a specific purpose.

   a dining saloon on a ship.

3. a large cabin for the common use of passengers on a passenger vessel.

4. British.

   1. (in a tavern or pub) a section of a bar or barroom separated from the public bar and often having more comfortable furnishings and a quieter atmosphere.

   2. saloon car.

5. a drawing room or reception room.

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saloon British  

/ səˈluːn /

noun

1. Also called: saloon bar.  another word for lounge

2. a large public room on a passenger ship

3. any large public room used for a specific purpose

   a dancing saloon

4. a place where alcoholic drink is sold and consumed

5. US, Canadian, and NZ name: sedan.  a closed two-door or four-door car with four to six seats

6. an obsolete word for salon

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• saloons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of saloon

First recorded in 1720–30; variant of salon

Explanation

A saloon is an old-fashioned name for a bar or a tavern. Suggest meeting at the local saloon after work and your friends might give you a funny look, but they'll know what you mean. A saloon is a place to sit drink a beer, though it's much more common these days to call it a bar or a pub. In the Old West, saloons played a huge role, providing refreshment to prospectors, trappers, and cowboys. The word comes from the French salon, and it originally had the same meaning, "living room." Later, saloon meant "hall," especially one on a boat or a train. In 1800's America, it came to mean "public house or bar."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

saloon saloons

Located on Main Street in an 1897 brick building, this inn, restaurant and saloon originally served as a boardinghouse for Homestake Gold Mine miners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

How many times can England drink in the last chance saloon?

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

Some might have quipped that the cowboy hat was fitting for a manager who was maybe drinking in last-chance saloon following back-to-back sackings in his previous jobs lasting a combined 15 months.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

“It was the old saloon in ‘Westworld,’” says Cummings, who was also the production designer on Nolan’s sci-fi western that aired for four seasons on HBO.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026

But the biggest amenity of all was the free lunch that almost every saloon offered in order to lure customers and increase the sale of beer.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

Even the smaller "crossover" versions, more closely related to conventional cars, tend to be taller and wider than traditional saloons, hatchbacks or estates.

From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025

Harnett found an enthusiastic clientele among merchants and industrialists who appreciated his male themes and appealing arrangements; they proudly hung his works in offices, stores and saloons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

Discover parks, hotels, saloons, restaurants and antique shops with an Old West ambiance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2023

In Russia, novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky described the streets of St. Petersburg, the rundown quarters in which the poor were condemned to live, and the cheap saloons in which they sought relief.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

The local saloons and other businesses formed a Stockyards Aid Society, and relief stations distributed groceries to those families nearing starvation.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

Related Words

• barroom
• hangout
• nightclub
• pub
• speakeasy
• tavern
• watering hole