noun
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a less common word for pub
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a place licensed for the sale and consumption of alcoholic drink
Synonym Usage
See hotel.
Other Word Forms
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
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for February 18–February 24, 2023
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Elijah of Buxton
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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 neighborhood tavern is getting a revival as the go-to place for a good meal, a cold drink and a sense of community.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 28, 2026
Throughout the year, the tavern hosts crafts fairs, cooking classes, folk concerts and an annual Easter egg hunt.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
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
I was out on the road in front of the tavern trying to clean the mud and dirt off the boards we laid down there in the spring, when Jerry Sanford came up the road.
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.
