nightclub
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
noun
Other Word Forms
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.
If scientists could peek into your brain while you listened to Chet Baker sing “My Funny Valentine,” perhaps they’d see how his worn-down murmurings float you off to a nightclub in the stars.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Standing “square in the doorway like a nightclub bouncer,” Lindsay’s sister-in-law says, “I’m sorry we haven’t got space for you to stay here long term.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Last month, he was taken to hospital after appearing to collapse at a Miami nightclub during a livestream.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
Within hours of his release from the hospital, he was back on streaming platform Kick and telling his followers he would be out at a nightclub that night to promote its grand opening.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
There was Uncle Neville hanging with Sierra’s mom and dad back in the eighties, all three of them looking wildly happy outside some nightclub that had long since burned down.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
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.
