tavern

noun

tav·​ern ˈta-vərn How to pronounce tavern (audio)
1
: an establishment where alcoholic beverages are sold to be drunk on the premises
2
: inn

Examples of tavern in a Sentence

a seedy section of the city's waterfront that was rife with cheap taverns, tattoo parlors, and run-down flophouses a colonial-era tavern that has been serving weary travelers for two and a half centuries
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Pamphlet was an enslaved tavern worker who followed his calling to preach, sermonizing equality, despite the laws that prohibited large gatherings of African Americans out of fear of slave uprisings. Ben Finley, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025 The regular inspections include restaurants, taverns, grocery stores, meat markets and bakeries. Ashley Fredde, Idaho Statesman, 18 June 2025 Albemarle Country boasted three Founding Fathers and all of them—Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe—were said to have frequented a Court Square tavern on market days. Deborah Baker june 3, Literary Hub, 3 June 2025 Among those are William Morales, a bomb maker for a militant Puerto Rican group that bombed a New York tavern in 1975, killing four, and Joanne Chesimard, known in Cuba as Assata Shakur, convicted for killing a New Jersey state trooper in 1973. Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 13 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for tavern

Word History

Etymology

Middle English taverne, from Anglo-French, from Latin taberna hut, shop

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tavern was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tavern.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tavern. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

tavern

noun
tav·​ern ˈtav-ərn How to pronounce tavern (audio)
1
: an establishment where alcoholic liquors are sold to be drunk on the premises
2
: inn

More from Merriam-Webster on tavern

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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