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motel

American  
[moh-tel] / moʊˈtɛl /

noun

  1. a hotel providing travelers with lodging and free parking facilities, typically a roadside hotel having rooms adjacent to an outside parking area or an urban hotel offering parking within the building.

motel British  
/ məʊˈtɛl /

noun

  1. a roadside hotel for motorists, usually having direct access from each room or chalet to a parking space or garage

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of motel

First recorded in 1920–25; blend of motor and hotel

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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.

In November, after learning that a beloved uncle had died, Martinez left the motel for several days — and didn’t “want to be around anybody.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

Martinez, who used to work at a water filtration company, said the Inside Safe motel was better than the street.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

They could end up nursing a grudge that they paid $200 a night for a space that resembles a dingy roadside motel rather than a boutique experience.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

He is among the 400,000 people expected to cram the causeways, beaches and motel balconies of Florida's Space Coast for the launch attempt of Artemis II tonight.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Andrew Peckleman was working near the motel sign, pouring a sack of birdseed into one of the feeders.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

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.