innkeeper
Americannoun
-
innkeepers
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of innkeeper
Explanation
An innkeeper is someone who owns or manages an inn. When you arrive at an inn, the innkeeper might be the person who checks you in and gives you a key to your room (and maybe a chocolate on your pillow). The earliest innkeepers ran inns in Europe during medieval times. These inns provided lodging, food, and a place for travelers to leave their horses, and an innkeeper managed all of these details. Today in the UK, some pubs call themselves inns, so you might find an innkeeper serving pints there, while in the US an inn is almost always a more charming version of a motel, run by an innkeeper.
Vocabulary lists containing innkeeper
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.
See Examples For:
Often have I recalled the scene in John Buchan’s spy thriller “The 39 Steps” when the protagonist, Richard Hannay, tells his true but unlikely story to an innkeeper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
Shelley Hunter, an innkeeper from Quincy, Calif., says airlines should be able to exclude kids from some flights.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 25, 2023
But Ms. Rolikova, the innkeeper, thought it was important to see it, and so she opened the padlocked door to reveal a palimpsest of Russia over the past century.
From New York Times ● Aug. 6, 2023
Moore complicates the timeline by interweaving another narrative, told via a series of letters written by an innkeeper to her sister just after the end of the Civil War.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2023
The innkeeper was, very pointedly, not looking in our direction.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
The innkeepers are very friendly and anxious to help you explore the island.
From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2023
A couple in upstate New York became impromptu innkeepers for South Korean tourists over the weekend after the visitors became stranded in an intense blizzard.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 26, 2022
The innkeepers are expected to wear multiple hats, and while it might sound like a daunting role, the job listing went viral around 2019.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
So here’s a tip that benefits travelers, innkeepers and even travel columnists: Use the O.T.A.s to do your research, but then book directly with the travel provider.
From New York Times ● Oct. 25, 2022
“Kote, sir,” Kote replied in an indulgent tone that mothers use on children and innkeepers use on drunks.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
