dive bar
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of dive bar
First recorded in 1940–45
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Built into the undulating terrain are brick homes, shingled cottages and a longstanding dive bar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
There are dive bar mimosas, strip malls, grocery aisles and cheap canned noodles.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
Even if it’s playing on a 19-inch black-and-white television with no sound in a crowded dive bar.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
The Oakland Coliseum, the A’s longtime home, was widely considered one of the most run-down stadiums in the major leagues — baseball’s last dive bar, as the Guardian newspaper put it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2025
“You know the Allens over on Porter Street, by that dive bar called Drinkers?”
From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
