inn

¹ American  

[in] / ɪn /

noun

1. a commercial establishment that provides lodging, food, etc., for the public, especially travelers; small hotel.

   Synonyms:

   hostelry

2. a tavern.

3. (initial capital letter)

   1. any of several buildings in London formerly used as places of residence for students, especially law students.

   2. a legal society occupying such a building.

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Inn ² American  

[in] / ɪn /

noun

1. a river in central Europe, flowing from S Switzerland through Austria and Germany into the Danube. 320 miles (515 km) long.

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inn ¹ British  

/ ɪn /

noun

1. a pub or small hotel providing food and accommodation

2. (formerly, in England) a college or hall of residence for students, esp of law, now only in the names of such institutions as the Inns of Court

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Inn ² British  

/ ɪn /

noun

1. a river in central Europe, rising in Switzerland in Graubünden and flowing northeast through Austria and Bavaria to join the River Danube at Passau: forms part of the border between Austria and Germany. Length: 514 km (319 miles)

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Related Words

See hotel.

Other Word Forms

• innless adjective

Etymology

Origin of inn

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English in(n) “house”; akin to Old Norse inni (adverb) “within, in the house”

Example Sentences

The inn has gotten more visitors since the rains, Katt said, because the hotel is only about seven miles from the park entrance and isn’t as expensive as the hotels inside its boundaries.

From Los Angeles Times

Jully Lee was brilliant as Hannah, the itinerant painter who turns up with her 97-year-old poet father at a Mexican seaside inn that is like a refuge for the world’s strays.

From Los Angeles Times

The family lived in a cottage nearby and befriended members of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who stayed at the inn for spring training during World War II.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Surfrider was built in 1953 as a motor inn and was later transformed to resemble a California beach house’s living room.

From The Wall Street Journal

On the road rising to the Pyrenees, we stop at a posada, a roadside inn where strings of chorizo and peppers hang like wind chimes above the bar.

From Salon

Related Words

• hostel
• hotel
• lodge
• motel
• resort
• saloon
• tavern