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:
“Gen X drinks more intentionally and more consistently over the course of a night,” said Zack Bush, co-founder of Mad Room Hospitality, which operates several venues including the storied Ball & Chain nightclub in Miami.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
“The center of social gravity has moved from the nightclub to the workout, the class and the calmer room.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
A nightclub cannot replace courts, organizing, voting, or protest.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
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
He did attend a prizefight one night and went to a local nightclub a few times, but his heart and interest weren’t in it.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Unpopulated nightclubs as empty as a cemetery at midnight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
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
Can be found carelessly spending money in restaurants and nightclubs.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
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
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
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.
