Hotel Definition: Meaning, Examples, and Usage

Meaning 1：lodging place (hotel)

hotel 🔊

/hoʊˈtɛl/

A place with rooms you pay to stay in when you're away from home, like on a trip.

Modern hotel building with bellhop helping family with luggage

lodging place 🔊

➕

/ˈlɒdʒɪŋ pleɪs/

A building or establishment that provides paid accommodation, typically with rooms and services for travelers and tourists.

📁 Category：Transportation & Travel 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'hospitālis' (guest), via Old French 'ostel'.

💡 Mnemonic

Ho (home) + tel (tell): your home away from home, as the name tells.

📖 Example

After a long flight, we finally checked into our hotel and immediately took a nap. 🔊 After a long flight, we finally checked into our hotel and immediately took a nap.

🔗 Collocations

check into a hotel – To register and obtain a room at a hotel.

hotel room – A private room in a hotel for guests.

hotel lobby – The entrance hall or waiting area of a hotel.

🔄 Synonyms

inn (n.) – A small hotel, often in a rural area, providing lodging and usually a bar or restaurant.

motel (n.) – A roadside hotel designed for motorists, with parking adjacent to rooms.

hostel (n.) – A budget accommodation offering dormitory-style rooms, often used by backpackers.

🚫 Antonyms

private home (n.) – A place where someone lives permanently, not a temporary lodging for travelers.

🌱 Derivatives

hotelier (n.) – A person who owns or manages a hotel.

hotelkeeper (n.) – A person who runs a hotel.

📖 Cultural Story

Derived from Latin 'hospitālis', meaning 'guest'. In medieval times, it meant a traveler's house. Today, it denotes the entire hospitality industry.