parlor

American  

[pahr-ler] / ˈpɑr lər /

especially British, parlour

noun

• parlors
  plural

1. Older Use. a room for the reception and entertainment of visitors to one's home; living room.

2. a room, apartment, or building serving as a place of business for certain businesses or professions.

   funeral parlor; beauty parlor.

3. a somewhat private room in a hotel, club, or the like for relaxation, conversation, etc.; lounge.

4. Also called locutorium.  a room in a monastery or the like where the inhabitants may converse with visitors or with each other.

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adjective

1. advocating something, as a political view or doctrine, at a safe remove from actual involvement in or commitment to action.

   parlor leftism; parlor pink.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• parlors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of parlor

1175–1225; Middle English parlur < Anglo-French; Old French parleor, equivalent to parl ( er ) to speak ( see parle) + -eor -or ²

Explanation

A parlor is a living room or a sitting room, the place in your house with comfortable chairs and sofas. You might also decide to put your giant new TV in the parlor. The noun parlor is an old-fashioned one. Still, almost anyone would know what you meant if you invited them to join you in the parlor for tea. These days, a hotel, inn, or historic house is more likely to have a parlor than a private home is. The thirteenth century version, parlur, meant "room in a monastery for holding conversations." The "conversations" part stems from parler, "to speak" in French.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parlor parlors

Today’s game takes place at the Meadowlands of New Jersey, at the 80,000 seat funeral parlor co-owned by the New York Giants and Jets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

“When customers or analysts start thinking, ‘Gosh, AI is gonna eat software or SaaS,’ it comes from the place of seeing parlor tricks.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

After the trial concluded, the founder of Indivisible Baldwin County, the group that had organized the No Kings protest, rounded up a small crew for a celebratory dinner at the pizza parlor down the block.

From Slate ● May 4, 2026

There was a long-running parlor game during his father’s first term about which of the children would run for president after daddy was done.

From Salon ● May 3, 2026

The cowlike lowing sounds came at intervals, and an impromptu waiting room sprang up in the parlor.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Inside, customers huddle over low tables in a puzzle of terracotta-tiled, plant-filled parlors, drinking the same thing: cà phê trứng aka egg coffee.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

But for the mom-and-pop shops in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades — the dry cleaners, tattoo parlors, bars, bistros and stores that sold antiques, flowers, books, pottery and macaroons — the devastation is more personal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2025

Investments in precision technologies such as robotic milking systems, rotary parlors and wearable health and reproductive technologies can help reduce labor costs across farms.

From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2024

Her paintings are set amid the privileged spaces of 19th-century parlors and gardens, where women sew or read or nurse an infant, uninterrupted by men.

From New York Times ● May 16, 2024

Down the stairs she went, from the servants’ and children’s quarters upstairs, past floor after floor of parlors and sitting rooms, dark-paneled libraries, and extra bedrooms for guests.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• drawing room
• living room
• lounge
• salon