speakeasy
Americannoun
-
speakeasies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of speakeasy
Explanation
During the time of Prohibition, people who wanted an alcoholic drink had to visit a speakeasy, or an illegal bar. In 1920 the United States began a failed experiment in social engineering, referred to today as Prohibition. Good citizens wasted little time in subverting laws banning the sale and consumption of alcohol by frequenting an establishment called the speakeasy — which, according to one slang lexicographer, may have come from a patron's manner of ordering an alcoholic drink without raising suspicion. The word may also be related to "speak softly shop," the nineteenth century Irish term for a smuggler's den.
Vocabulary lists containing speakeasy
Chapter 13, Sections 1–3
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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.
See Examples For:
Forthcoming amenities include a speakeasy with lots of low-slung seating and a cabaret-style theater.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
Listening to “The Boutique,” I feel like I should be smoking a cigarette and drinking the dirtiest martini known to man in a speakeasy, wearing a drop waist silk dress and bright red lipstick.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
"What a place this is!" he gushed, of Invercargill, excitement bursting out of him like he was in some rooftop bar in downtown Tokyo or a speakeasy in the East Village in New York.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
But the ticket instructions read like a speakeasy invite: They included a date and time to log in to FIFA’s site, but few other details.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
One witness said that they’d stopped, alone, at another speakeasy closer to Fairfax.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Today, the places that call themselves speakeasies are about intentionality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
The parallels with early 20th century Prohibition in America – gangsters, feminists, minorities, corruption, doctor’s notes, speakeasies and moonshine – are strikingly similar.
From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2025
With my belly full and the day still young, I set out to unearth some of the festival’s secret speakeasies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2024
Designer Gregg Barnes, winning his third Tony, said in an interview that his inspirations included art deco architecture, the Harlem Renaissance and the fashions of 1930s jazz clubs and speakeasies.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 18, 2023
Zizmo’s shadowy business associates made visits, as well as people from the speakeasies he supplied and a few of Lina’s friends.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
