fleabag

noun

flea·​bag ˈflē-ˌbag How to pronounce fleabag (audio)
: an inferior hotel or rooming house

Examples of fleabag in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Hiding out from capture in a ramshackle fleabag hotel somewhere south of the U.S. border, Eddie and Venom banter about the nature of the universe, with Venom teasing that no human could handle the mutliversal realities alien symbiotes have experienced in their lifetimes. Adam B. Vary, Variety, 2 Oct. 2021 The Berkeley Inn, known to Geyer’s generation as a fleabag hotel, once stood on the parcel of land. Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2022 The idea was that after years as the most famous and majestic fleabag in Manhattan, the Chelsea was going to be made over into a boutique hotel, one that would draw on its layers of legend. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 July 2022 The women have criticized the league for putting them up in fleabag motels — literally. Mark Goodman, The Denver Post, 12 July 2019 That meant—and here something of a mythical fog descends—living in Washington Square Park and fleabag hotels, and rotating through the sofas and beds of various friends and lovers. Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 24 June 2018 The movie is a glimpse into the daily lives of two little girls and a boy — Moonee, Jancey, and Scooty — living in two adjacent fleabag motels in Orlando that amount to bottom feeders in the tourism ecosystem. Kyle Smith, National Review, 5 Oct. 2017 Downtown is rife with greasy diners, fleabag hotels and steamy dive bars. Karen Schoemer, New York Times, 30 May 2017 Why did Schwartz, the most promising poet of his generation, end up dying at the age of 52 in a fleabag hotel in Midtown Manhattan? James Atlas, New York Times, 10 Feb. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fleabag.' 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

1907, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fleabag was in 1907

Dictionary Entries Near fleabag

Cite this Entry

“Fleabag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fleabag. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

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