honky-tonk
Americannoun
adjective
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Also honky-tonky of, relating to, or characteristic of a honky-tonk.
a honky-tonk atmosphere.
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characterized by or having a large number of honky-tonks.
the honky-tonk part of town.
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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
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slang
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a cheap disreputable nightclub, bar, etc
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( as modifier )
a honky-tonk district
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a style of ragtime piano-playing, esp on a tinny-sounding piano
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a type of country music, usually performed by a small band with electric and steel guitars
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( 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.
While Tina Turner didn’t draw many honky-tonk regulars into her fold with this big swing, the album has since won renewed appreciation for Turner’s way of returning country to its Black musical roots.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
Wilson and Hodges, an NFL quarterback-turned-entrepreneur, met on a blind date in 2021 that started with a dinner on the water in Hendersonville, Tenn., and ended up at a honky-tonk.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
Britain’s long war, meeting the Mets, a honky-tonk bard and more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 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
To everyone’s surprise, McCandless sat down at the piano, which he'd never mentioned he knew how to play, and started pounding out honky-tonk country tunes, then ragtime, then Tony Bennett numbers.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
