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speakeasy

American  
[speek-ee-zee] / ˈspikˌi zi /

noun

plural

speakeasies

  1. a saloon or nightclub selling alcoholic beverages illegally, especially during Prohibition.

speakeasy British  
/ ˈspiːkˌiːzɪ /

noun

  1. a place where alcoholic drink was sold illicitly during Prohibition

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of speakeasy

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; speak + easy

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.

Hood, Ling and other entrepreneurs paved the way for places like Laowai—a speakeasy inspired by Prohibition-era Shanghai.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025

Then came the mid-aughts cocktail renaissance — speakeasy revival, vest-wearing bartenders, the return of obscure bitters, the emergence of the cocktail-as-craft.

From Salon • Nov. 30, 2025

The building boasts several amenities, including two lavish pools, a residents-only restaurant, a speakeasy and 24-hour catering services for residents.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 27, 2025

On TV, Sinatra in black-and-white knocks on the door of a speakeasy in “The Joker is Wild.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2024

And on Hurlbut Street, my grandfather, Lefty Stephanides, took down the zebra skin, dismantled his underground speakeasy, and emerged once again into the upper atmosphere.

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.