nickelodeon
Americannoun
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an early movie theater where a film or a variety show could be seen, usually for the admission price of a nickel.
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an early jukebox that was operated by inserting nickels.
noun
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an early form of jukebox
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(formerly) a cinema charging five cents for admission
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(formerly) a Pianola, esp one operated by inserting a five-cent piece
Etymology
Origin of nickelodeon
An Americanism first recorded in 1885–90; nickel (in the sense of “coin”) + (mel)odeon
Explanation
A nickelodeon is an old fashioned coin-operated machine that plays music. You can also call a nickelodeon a "jukebox." In the US, it's common to refer to an old-timey jukebox or player piano (or any music machine that operates with a coin or token) as a nickelodeon, although the original meaning was a movie theater or cinema that cost five cents. The movie theater definition dates from the late 1800s, from the Greek oideion, "building for performances," and the jukebox meaning was first used in the 1930s.
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.
Taking a cue from nickelodeon piano players, composer John Powell steers the mood with a vibrantly eclectic score of sprightly ragtime, violin pathos and popcorn crescendos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
In those boom years, Clementon Park added one of the region’s first nickelodeon movie theaters and a new bathhouse.
From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2021
Around the turn of the 20th century, storefront nickelodeon movie theaters joined saloons, dance halls and bowling alleys as city gathering points.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2018
The familiar faces that appeared on nickelodeon screens were known only by their studio’s brand: The Vitagraph Girl, The Biograph Girl.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 19, 2017
Call this 'The Home Fireside'—no nickelodeon business—and get the Center Church quartette to sing.
From Otherwise Phyllis by Charles Dana Gibson
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.
