innkeeper

noun

inn·​keep·​er ˈin-ˌkē-pər How to pronounce innkeeper (audio)
1
: a proprietor of an inn
2

Examples of innkeeper in a Sentence

the innkeeper was a very genial, accommodating host
Recent Examples on the Web Meanwhile, your innkeepers have to heave your luggage up from the boat. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024 Back in the day, parents sent money to different cafés, innkeepers or restaurants around Heidelberg weekly so that the students wouldn’t spend their allowance all at once. Yolanda Evans, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024 Ishmael’s short stay has lasting ramifications on the lives of the innkeeper and her female descendants. Staff, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Jan. 2024 Olivier’s face could be made to look like Picasso’s, the innkeeper Josep Fondevila’s like an African mask, and so on. Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2024 Cycle Oregon began as a germ of an idea in a letter to The Oregonian from Ashland innkeeper Jim Beaver. oregonlive, 12 Sep. 2023 The Living Nativity: Christ Presbyterian Church hosts a free interactive walk-through Christmas story, featuring Mary and Joseph on the way to Bethlehem, baby Jesus in a manger, the innkeeper, shepherds and angels in the field, wise men and Emperor Augustus. The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Dec. 2023 In 1821, a 20-year-old innkeeper’s son named Thierry Hermès, who grew up in the German textile town of Krefeld, moved to France’s Normandy region and apprenticed as a saddler. Lindsay Talbot, New York Times, 8 Nov. 2023 And who killed the innkeeper with a sword after a fight? Isabella Kwai, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'innkeeper.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of innkeeper was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near innkeeper

Cite this Entry

“Innkeeper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innkeeper. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

innkeeper

noun
inn·​keep·​er ˈin-ˌkē-pər How to pronounce innkeeper (audio)
: the person who runs an inn

More from Merriam-Webster on innkeeper

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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