noun
-
a less common word for pub
-
a place licensed for the sale and consumption of alcoholic drink
Related Words
See hotel.
Other Word Forms
- tavernless adjective
Etymology
Origin of tavern
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English taverne, from Old French, from Latin taberna “hut, inn, wine shop”
Explanation
A tavern is a pub or a bar, often one that rents upstairs rooms to travelers. The word tavern is most popular in the New England region of the United States, where many taverns date back as far as the 1600s and 1700s. A tavern is a drinking establishment that rents rooms — in England, it's much more common to call such a place an inn. The earliest, thirteenth century meaning of tavern was "wine shop," and by the 1400s it meant "public house or inn." The root word is the Latin taberna, "hut, shop, or inn."
Vocabulary lists containing tavern
Content Summary 5.1: Causes of the Atlantic Revolutions
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for February 18–February 24, 2023
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Elijah of Buxton
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
While it certainly helps, you don’t need to own a historic building to open a tavern.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
The police added that the tavern was licensed.
From BBC • Dec. 21, 2025
In “Twenty-Sided Tavern,” there are three core actors playing and acting out the game, one dungeon master and a sort of tavern keeper helping to keep score and track of the story.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025
The first Pizza Hut opened in a converted tavern in Wichita, Kansas, in 1958.
From Slate • Nov. 13, 2025
On a school day it would have been different; I would have just told the teacher I had to go home and help at the tavern, and gone up to Warrups’.
From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
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.
