dive bar

noun

plural dive bars

: an unpretentious and usually inexpensive bar that caters especially to regular clientele

… the people I drink and listen to music with tend to gather … at favored dive bars where the music and ambiance suit our taste and demographic. … These joints are never sleek or swank, but are places that are nonjudgmental … and are open late.

—Anthony Bourdain

This hole-in-the-wall dive bar is easy to miss, nestled between an unassuming pizza joint and a 7-Eleven.

—Oset Babur

If you headed out for the night to get a few drinks with friends and you all decided to go to a dive bar, how absurd would it be if one of your buddies then started complaining about the lack of artisanal snacks and vintage cocktails on the menu?

—Michael Walsh

Examples of dive bar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the play’s first act, men show up at a dive bar in Kingston, New York, order a Bud Light, and hand over an envelope to the disaffected man behind the counter named Joey (played by Bubba Weiler) before heading to a back room. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026

The night ended at a dive bar named Gusty’s complete with a disco ball and never-ending early-2000s hits. — Shelby Wax, Vogue, 21 Sep. 2026

Wilson follows Macco to gigs at dive bars in Long Island and festivals in Montauk, discussing life, passion, and loss, while occasionally taking shots of leftover promotional liquor. — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2026

Another resident claimed to have seen Gaga at the 2AM Club, a famous dive bar, in Mill Valley. — Martha Ross, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1974, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dive bar

• abattoir
• alcazar
• autocar
• avatar
• belshazzar
• caviar
• caviare
• cinnabar
• commissar
• condylar
• deodar
• handlebar