speakeasy
Americannoun
plural
speakeasiesnoun
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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The Mighty Miss Malone
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Night Owls
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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.
The marketing professional from Minneapolis first visited on a busy weekend shortly after the speakeasy launched.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
American Express likens the 1,500-square-foot lounge, tucked away in a sliver of space past a Kate Spade store and smoking lounge with slot machines, to a speakeasy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
Janes House was bought by a developer and moved to the back of its lot where it was restored; it is now the speakeasy No Vacancy.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2026
This no-device speakeasy would be less structured around work and more like a hangout: Someone just kicks off a conversation and folks follow on.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026
“Still running the speakeasy? Those days are numbered. Lefty better find something else to do.”
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.
