a commercial establishment offering lodging to travelers and sometimes to permanent residents, and often having restaurants, meeting rooms, stores, etc., that are available to the general public.
a word used in communications to represent the letter H.
Military. Hotel, the NATO name for a class of nuclear-powered Soviet submarines armed with single-warhead ballistic missiles: in service with the Soviet Navy 1959–91.
Hotel, house, inn, tavern refer to establishments for the lodging or entertainment of travelers and others. Hotel is the common word, suggesting a more or less commodious establishment with up-to-date appointments, although this is not necessarily true: the best hotel in the city; a cheap hotel near the docks. The word house is often used in the name of a particular hotel, the connotation being wealth and luxury: the Parker House; the Palmer House. Inn suggests a place of homelike comfort and old-time appearance or ways; it is used for quaint or archaic effect in the names of some public houses and hotels in the U.S.: the Pickwick Inn; the Wayside Inn. A tavern, like the English public house, is a house where liquor is sold for drinking on the premises; until recently it was archaic or dialectal in the U.S., but has been revived to substitute for saloon, which had unfavorable connotations: Taverns are required to close by two o'clock in the morning. The word has also been used in the sense of inn, especially in New England, ever since Colonial days: Wiggins Tavern.
First recorded in 1670–80; from French hôtel, Old French hostel hostel
How does hotel compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
When you're on vacation, one place you can stay for a nightly fee is a hotel. Most hotels provide accommodations for sleeping, with minibars, pools, and ice machines to keep you entertained. While in Australia and New Zealand a hotel can also be a bar or a pub, most English-speakers recognize this word as the equivalent of an inn. Simple hotels give you a bed to sleep in and a bathroom to use, while fancier hotels might have beautiful furnishings, separate sitting rooms, swimming pools, and cafes. In the 1760s, hotel was defined as "an inn of the better sort."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hotel companies and the unions representing hotel workers oppose expanding the short-term rental market out of existing housing stock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
The hotel later became a center for those returning from the death camps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Past L.A. locations have included buzzy restaurant Craig’s and the West Hollywood Edition hotel on the Sunset Strip.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
"He has no phone or wallet with him and probably forgets the name of the hotel," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
I am sorry for the delay in responding to your letter, which had been forwarded from my London hotel and which I only received this morning, upon my return to dear old Swanburne.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Hotel companies and the unions representing hotel workers oppose expanding the short-term rental market out of existing housing stock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
The killing of Thompson, 50, came as other top executives at UnitedHealth Group, parent of the largest U.S. health insurer, were getting ready for an investor presentation inside Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
I ended up leaving with the Hotel Mar-a-Lago shirt, which Bill insisted I take as a souvenir of my visit, refusing my money when I pulled out my wallet.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
We sit high above the city at La Terrasse in the Port Benidorm Hotel just before sunset.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
When, ultimately, Bobby walked into the lobby of the Astoria Hotel in Leipzig, he was greeted by a man who resembled a younger and handsomer Groucho Marx: Isaac Kashdan, the United States team captain.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Travel agents have access to cheaper bookings and perks: They can often provide discounts on hotels, cruises and tours, or access to perks like VIP packages and upgraded rooms that aren’t available to the public.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Habaneros grumble that the money he spent turning old palaces into stunning hotels -- now empty -- was wasted.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Egypt is poised for further growth, while demand for trips to Turkey rebounded after hotels cut prices to entice budget-conscious tourists, according to the chief of the German travel group .
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Restaurants were packed with diners and hotels were fully booked with tourists looking to soak in the region’s misty redwood forests and dramatic ocean views.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The hotels are all in competition to see who can get their guests from their rooms to the casino faster.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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.
