nightclub
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film is directly alluded to on the walls of one of Renton’s nightclub haunts, which are decorated like the Korova Milkbar.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
That attitude, he says, is most notable in his scenes with Li Jun Li, whose femme fatale character Felicia “Cat” Hardy, a nightclub singer, knows more than she wants to reveal.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
But she said their relationship changed after Wignall's nightclub business started to fail.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
Two months ago, two people died of MenB in Kent, linked to a nightclub in Canterbury, and in April, three young people contracted meningitis in Dorset.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
We arranged to go to a 52nd Street nightclub to hear Billie Holiday, who had been on the road and was just back in New York.
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.
