nightclub
Americannoun
-
nightclubs
plural
verb (used without object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of nightclub
Explanation
A nightclub is a bar or a disco where people can dance or be entertained late into the night. There are many nightclubs in New York City, but there are no nightclubs at all in most tiny Vermont villages. Visitors to a nightclub can eat and drink; watch singers, dancers, or comedians perform; and usually also dance to live music or songs played by a DJ. You can also call a nightclub a "club" for short — the dance floor is what distinguishes it from a bar or a pub. The word nightclub sounds modern, but it dates from the late nineteenth century.
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:
Tim Smith remembers stepping out of a small nightclub beneath the Alhambra theatre after spending hours photographing a "daytimers" disco.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Brydon Carse, who is under an investigation from the Cricket Regulator following an incident outside a nightclub in Derby in August, remains absent.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The outbreak is thought to have started in a nightclub called Club Chemistry in the city centre, which was popular with university students.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Catch One is a generalist music venue, but was founded as Los Angeles’ first nightclub for Black lesbians.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Dorothea wrote about her tour, and about her new job in a nightclub, and about Nick; but she said nothing at all about April’s coming home.
From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
We’d be out at nightclubs every day of the week, hitting three or four clubs a night to find the bands that would be on that show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
No evidence was found to suggest that they visited any nightclubs or local businesses in the area at the time, police said.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
He also worked with emerging regional house music acts, helming A&R for the essential label Trax Records and booked acts like Marshall Jefferson and Adonis at globally prominent nightclubs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
“Up All Night” is filled with examples of how nightclubs subverted social hierarchies and thrived in opposition to mainstream culture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Can be found carelessly spending money in restaurants and nightclubs.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
The ads touted the faded resort’s reputation as a nightclubbing spot - despite the fact that nightclubs are currently closed to enforce social distancing.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 29, 2020
Among the nightspots where now-infected people congregated, it skirted a national coronavirus ban on nightclubbing by converting itself into a late-night watering hole, blocking off its dance floor with tables and bar stools.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 29, 2020
I’m sure that in his nightclubbing life in New York he was delighted to rub shoulders with prominent black athletes and so forth.
From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2016
Things you did to entertain yourself 10 years ago don't apply to you when your kids are nearly 10, nightclubbing, things like that.
From Reuters ● Aug. 1, 2012
Jack Ravenhurst went into her own room after flashing me a rather hurt smile that was supposed to indicate her disappointment in not being allowed to go nightclubbing.
From A Spaceship Named McGuire by Randall Garrett
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.
