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Synonyms

nightclub

American  
[nahyt-kluhb] / ˈnaɪtˌklʌb /

noun

  1. Also night club an establishment for evening entertainment, generally open until the early morning, that serves liquor and usually food and offers patrons music, comedy acts, a floor show, or dancing; nightspot.

verb (used without object)

nightclubbed, nightclubbing

  1. to visit nightclubs.

nightclub British  
/ ˈnaɪtˌklʌb /

noun

  1. a place of entertainment open until late at night, formerly offering food, drink, a floor show, dancing, etc, but now usually featuring loud amplified music for dancing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nightclubber noun

Etymology

Origin of nightclub

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; night + club

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.

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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.

It also emerged after the Ashes that white-ball captain Harry Brook had an altercation with a nightclub bouncer during a trip to New Zealand last year.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

One video showed him at a nightclub, dancing on a stage wearing a New York Yankees shirt with the name “Cangrejo”—Spanish for “Crab”—on the back and dousing himself with a bottle of water.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

He can dole out favors, such as access to a vacation beach house or the green light to open a nightclub, relatives said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

Police initially questioned two men, a taxi driver and a nightclub waiter, believed to be among the last to see him alive.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

Now he’s making his living being funny as a nationally known stage and nightclub comedian.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

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.