nightclub
Americannoun
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:
He had met the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at an east London nightclub on 2 January 2023.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
It will soon become the outdoor patio of Origin, an ambitious new indoor-outdoor nightclub and live music venue from two veteran promoters in L.A.’s underground electronic scene.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
From rented space in a former nightclub in Beijing that Jin converted into a sanctuary, the church grew rapidly alongside growing interest in Christianity in China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Shirley Temple gets passing recognition, only via her namesake drink when the Minions visit a nightclub and sip virgin cocktails loaded with cherries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Could the dancing be in a nightclub with lots of mirrors?
From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson
Thailand's lax approach to health and safety regulations -- particularly in its bars and nightclubs -- has long raised concerns.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
Meanwhile, this February, nightclubs and grassroots spaces were excluded from the business rates relief scheme, despite the venues' rateable value skyrocketing by 56% since 2017.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
The title is actually something I said in my head when I was going to nightclubs in my 30s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
The neighborhood was bustling, filled with trendy restaurants, renovated hotels, nightclubs and luxury retailers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
About two o’clock every morning, as the downtown white nightclubs closed, Reginald and I would stand around in front of this or that Hariem after-hours place, and I’d school him to what was happening.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
In some cases he promised marriage, even proposing to one woman while engaged to another and nightclubbing with a third.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 4, 2018
That matters when you’re selling $25,000 custom suits to heads of state or $120,000 crocodile shirts for nightclubbing industrialists.
From New York Times ● Aug. 10, 2017
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
"You need to live your life in a more mature way, stop the nightclubbing and focus on your work," Sautner said.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 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 Garrett, Randall
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.
