posada

American  

[poh-sah-duh, paw-sah-thah] / poʊˈsɑ də, pɔˈsɑ ðɑ /

noun

posadas plural

1. (in some Spanish-speaking countries) a government-operated or -approved inn offering moderately priced rooms to tourists, especially in a historic area.

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posada British  

/ poˈsaða /

noun

1. an inn in a Spanish-speaking country

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• posadas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of posada

1755–65; < Spanish: inn, lodging, dwelling, equivalent to pos ( ar ) to lodge, rest (< Late Latin pausāre; see pose ¹) + -ada, feminine of -ado -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Undocumented families filled the street for a posada, a Latin American Christmas tradition akin to a roving block party, with music, food and an increasingly rare sense of safety.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 24, 2025

On the road rising to the Pyrenees, we stop at a posada, a roadside inn where strings of chorizo and peppers hang like wind chimes above the bar.

From Salon • Nov. 8, 2025

In a 2015 profile, he told The Times that he was guided by the concept of la posada — meaning inn or lodging.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2025

“That really changed the the understanding of how deeply embedded migrants are in community,” said Jennifer Piper of American Friends Service Committee, which organized the posada celebration.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 23, 2023

Bill and I got down and went into the posada.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway