pub
noun
a bar or tavern.
pub
1 American
[puhb]
/ pʌb /
noun
pubs
plural
pub.
2
American
abbreviation
-
public.
-
publication.
-
published.
-
publisher.
-
publishing.
pub.
1
British
abbreviation
-
public
-
publication
-
published
-
publisher
-
publishing
pub
2
British
/ pʌb /
noun
-
Formal name: public house. a building with a bar and one or more public rooms licensed for the sale and consumption of alcoholic drink, often also providing light meals
-
a hotel
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pub
First recorded in 1855–60; short for public house
Explanation
A pub is a bar or tavern that serves food and often acts as a community gathering place. People visit pubs to eat lunch, to drink beer, or to play darts with their friends. Pub is a shortened form of public house that dates from 1859. In the sixteenth century, a public house was first "any building open to the public," and then "an inn that sells food and drink." Today, the word pub is more or less synonymous with tavern — both are primarily places to drink beer, wine, or spirits, though a pub (especially in Great Britain) is seen as vital to its neighborhood, a cozy place to gather.
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.
Pub chains Wetherspoons and Greene King, as well as Nando's will be among those who say they will pass on tax savings to customers in the form of cheaper meals.
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026
The Scottish Beer and Pub Association has estimated that Scotland's group games could generate an additional £7m for pubs and bars.
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026
At the Molly Wee Pub, when a win seemed likely a young college student remarked to his friends: "Oh my god, I'm going to see the Knicks win the Finals. I can't believe it."
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
Many dined and drank beer with islanders at the Albatross Pub.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
The bartender told me Dad had gone to the Pub, which was a notch below the Howdy House—almost pitch black, with a sticky bar top and no food at all.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
