saloon

American  

[suh-loon] / səˈlun /

noun

saloons plural

1. a place for the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks.

2. a room or place for general use for a specific purpose.

   a dining saloon on a ship.

3. a large cabin for the common use of passengers on a passenger vessel.

4. British.

   1. (in a tavern or pub) a section of a bar or barroom separated from the public bar and often having more comfortable furnishings and a quieter atmosphere.

   2. saloon car.

5. a drawing room or reception room.

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saloon British  

/ səˈluːn /

noun

1. Also called: saloon bar.  another word for lounge

2. a large public room on a passenger ship

3. any large public room used for a specific purpose

   a dancing saloon

4. a place where alcoholic drink is sold and consumed

5. US, Canadian, and NZ name: sedan.  a closed two-door or four-door car with four to six seats

6. an obsolete word for salon

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• saloons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of saloon

First recorded in 1720–30; variant of salon

Explanation

A saloon is an old-fashioned name for a bar or a tavern. Suggest meeting at the local saloon after work and your friends might give you a funny look, but they'll know what you mean. A saloon is a place to sit drink a beer, though it's much more common these days to call it a bar or a pub. In the Old West, saloons played a huge role, providing refreshment to prospectors, trappers, and cowboys. The word comes from the French salon, and it originally had the same meaning, "living room." Later, saloon meant "hall," especially one on a boat or a train. In 1800's America, it came to mean "public house or bar."

Example Sentences

Located on Main Street in an 1897 brick building, this inn, restaurant and saloon originally served as a boardinghouse for Homestake Gold Mine miners.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026

How many times can England drink in the last chance saloon?

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026

Downing Street has rung me before when previous tenants appeared on the threshold of the last chance saloon: Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

Like Sweeney’s pop-up, this saloon isn’t totally for show — there are selected premixed cocktails available.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026

Concerning that night’s ride, the man spoke most eloquently for himself, in a little shed back of a saloon on the San Francisco water front.

From "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London

Related Words

• barroom
• hangout
• nightclub
• pub
• speakeasy
• tavern
• watering hole