motel
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of motel
Compare meaning
How does motel compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A motel is a place you can stay overnight, with plenty of parking and easy access to a highway. Many motels feature rooms with separate entrances that face a large parking lot. A motel is very much like a hotel — it fact, motels were originally "motor hotels." The first official motel was built in 1925, designed to be an easy, cheap stop on a long car trip. While hotels are often in the middle of cities, motels are usually on a city's outskirts, providing space to park and a quick walk from car to room. The popularity of motels increased through the twentieth century, along with the development of the modern highway system.
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.
Another option is the Bower Coronado, also a dramatically upgraded motel that reopened in 2025 with prices similar to Baby Grand’s but a much more buttoned-down style.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
The Cozy Cone Motel nods to the Wigwam motel chain, which once included seven locations from Kentucky to California.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
These days Roy’s operates as a gas station, gift shop and snack bar, not a cafe or motel.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
Police recovered the bag from Bustamante Leiva's motel room, the justice department said.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
The first thing I do is go around behind the back of the motel, where there’s a stretch of old pavement with clumps of grass and flowers growing through the cracks.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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.
