honky-tonk
Americannoun
adjective
-
Also honky-tonky of, relating to, or characteristic of a honky-tonk.
a honky-tonk atmosphere.
-
characterized by or having a large number of honky-tonks.
the honky-tonk part of town.
-
Music. noting a style of ragtime piano-playing characterized by a strict two-four or four-four bass, either contrapuntal or chordal, and a melody embellished with chords and syncopated rhythms, typically performed on a piano whose strings have been muffled and given a tinny sound.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
slang
-
a cheap disreputable nightclub, bar, etc
-
( as modifier )
a honky-tonk district
-
-
a style of ragtime piano-playing, esp on a tinny-sounding piano
-
a type of country music, usually performed by a small band with electric and steel guitars
-
( as modifier )
honky-tonk music
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of honky-tonk
1890–95, rhyming compound based on honk
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.
The songs Stewart wrote carried the flavor of the roadhouse scene; Mr. McDonough likens one of his records to “a beer-stained telegraph from a honky-tonk foxhole.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
This year, the venture expanded with a new location five times the size of the original in the heart of American honky-tonk: Nashville.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025
You won't find him on Broadway or in the city's famous honky-tonk music bars.
From BBC • Oct. 18, 2025
Ubaldini continued to play roots rock and honky-tonk music in O.C. and formed a new band called Mystery Train that got signed but lasted for only one record.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2025
Inside were tall French doors and Persian carpets and a huge grand piano that would practically dance when Grandma played her honky-tonk music.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
