Bristol

American  

[bris-tl] / ˈbrɪs tl /

noun

1. a seaport in Avon, in southwestern England, on the Avon River near its confluence with the Severn estuary.

2. a city in central Connecticut.

3. a township in southeastern Pennsylvania, on the Delaware River.

4. a deepwater seaport in eastern Rhode Island.

5. a city in northeastern Tennessee, contiguous to but politically independent of Bristol, Virginia.

6. a city in southwestern Virginia, contiguous to but politically independent of Bristol, Tennessee.

7. a bi-state region comprising the twin cities of Bristol, Tennessee, and Bristol, Virginia.

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Bristol British  

/ ˈbrɪstəl /

noun

1. a port and industrial city in SW England, mainly in Bristol unitary authority, on the River Avon seven miles from its mouth on the Bristol Channel: a major port, trading with America, in the 17th and 18th centuries; the modern port consists chiefly of docks at Avonmouth and Portishead; noted for the Clifton Suspension Bridge (designed by I. K. Brunel, 1834) over the Avon gorge; Bristol university (1909) and University of the West of England (1992). Pop: 420 556 (2001)

2. a unitary authority in SW England, created in 1996 from part of Avon county. Pop: 391 500 (2003 est). Area: 110 sq km (42 sq miles)

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Example Sentences

Nathan and his brother Ronnie Freeman run the Industry bar on Gloucester Road in Bristol.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Nathan Freeman, landlord of a sports bar in Bristol, said: "Everything going into the pint has gone up, to be honest with you."

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

But the U.K. branch of the polyglot style sometimes called post-rock included Bristol groups such as Movietone and Crescent, who mixed and matched dub rhythms, folk instrumentation, and electronics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

Researchers compared the results with both historical samples and other beluga populations and found that genetic diversity in Bristol Bay is comparable to that of much larger populations.

From Science Daily • Jun. 4, 2026

At Sixth and Vine the detectives came to a hotel called the Bristol and discovered that on Saturday, September 29, 1894, a party identified as “A. E. Cook” had checked in, with three children.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson