What does "motel" mean?

A type of hotel or lodging establishment, often located near a major highway, which typically features a series of rooms whose entrances are immediately adjacent to a parking lot to facilitate convenient access to parked automobiles.

What is a synonym for "motel"?

Common synonyms include: hotel, hotels, motor hotel, motor inn, roadside inn, roadside lodging.

Motel

/moʊˈtɛl/ noun, verb, slang

noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1
A type of hotel or lodging establishment, often located near a major highway, which typically features a series of rooms whose entrances are immediately adjacent to a parking lot to facilitate convenient access to parked automobiles. also, attributive
2
a motor hotel wordnet
3
A low-cost short-stay hotel, often with hourly rates rather than daily rates, and notorious for permitting illicit sexual activities; love hotel.

Verb

1
To stay in a motel or motels. informal, intransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms

hotel hotels motor hotel motor inn roadside inn roadside lodging

Antonyms

All antonyms

full-service hotel luxury hotel

Example

More examples

"A motel is like a hotel only much smaller and is used mostly by people traveling by automobile."

Etymology

Blend of motor + hotel, from the original Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo in California, USA, established in 1925 by Arthur Heineman (1878–1974).

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