a commercial establishment that provides lodging, food, etc., for the public, especially travelers; small hotel.
a tavern.
(initial capital letter)
any of several buildings in London formerly used as places of residence for students, especially law students.
a legal society occupying such a building.
a pub or small hotel providing food and accommodation
(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
See hotel.
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English in(n) “house”; akin to Old Norse inni (adverb) “within, in the house”
An inn is a place to stay while you're on vacation or on the road. Inns are usually smaller and more charming than hotels, but they serve the same purpose: to give you a place to rest your weary head as you travel. Some inns are more charming versions of hotels, while others use the word inn simply to make them sound more appealing than a motel. The original meaning of inn was "lodging and food for travelers," although today some inns don't have a restaurant or bar attached. If you own or manage an inn, you're an "innkeeper." Inn comes from the Old English inne, "inside or within."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The fête and the court had brought a crowd of diners to the inn- table; when we were all seated we made quite a company at the long, narrow board.
From In and out of Three Normady Inns by Dodd, Anna Bowman
Paul pushed forward, through a crowded passage, till he got into the inn- yard.
From The Parent's Assistant by Edgeworth, Maria
Borrow's lovable qualities were never permitted to show themselves in public, they were kept for the dingle, the fireside, or the inn- parlour.
From The Life of George Borrow by Jenkins, Herbert George
From father's words I gathered that something of the jolly inn- keeper effect was to be sought.
From Triumph of the Egg, and Other Stories by Anderson, Sherwood
It is vastly different to awake in Gretz, to go down the green inn- garden, to find the river streaming through the bridge, and to see the dawn begin across the poplared level.
From Across the Plains by Stevenson, Robert Louis
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.
