cabaret

noun

cab·​a·​ret ˌka-bə-ˈrā 

ˈka-bə-ˌrā

1

archaic : a shop selling wines and liquors

2

a

: a restaurant serving liquor and providing entertainment (as by singers or dancers) : nightclub

b

: the show provided at a cabaret

Synonyms

• bistro
• boîte
• café
• cafe
• club
• nightclub
• nightspot
• nitery
• niterie
• roadhouse
• supper club

Examples of cabaret in a Sentence

a singing superstar who got her start singing in the cabarets of New York City

Recent Examples on the Web

Later in the piece, as the audience is ushered into a decadent cabaret space carved out of the Agger Fish Building, another amazing and largely untold tale is teased, revealed, and spun. —Corey Seymour, Vogue, 2 May 2025

Drysdale’s ruling followed the discovery by the Manhattan district attorney’s office that the 1916 drawing, Russian War Prisoner, had been stolen from Austrian Jewish cabaret entertainer Fritz Grünbaum by Nazis. —News Desk, Artforum, 25 Apr. 2025

That venue has since closed, so the show has been transferred to Mrs. Murphy’s, which previously hosted Ghostlight’s holiday cabarets. —Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2025

What resulted was a raucous reimagining of Mary Todd Lincoln as a wannabe cabaret singer with ringlet curls and a penchant for drinking. —Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 1 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French dialect (Picard or Walloon), from Middle Dutch, alteration of cambret, cameret, from Middle French dialect (Picard) camberete small room, ultimately from Late Latin camera — more at chamber

First Known Use

1655, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for cabaret

• aaa
• adonais
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway

Kids Definition

cabaret

noun

cab·​a·​ret ˌkab-ə-ˈrā 

ˈkab-ə-ˌrā

: nightclub