motel

Meaning

Noun

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

Verb

To stay in a motel or motels.

Synonyms

hotel

🏨

inn

hostel

motor hotel

roadside hotel

motor inn

cabin court

road house

bedroom

motor court

court

lodge

lodging

motor lodge

tourist court

Hyphenated as

mo‧tel

Pronounced as (IPA)

/moʊˈtɛl/

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).