massage parlor

noun

Updated on: 31 Mar 2018

Definition of massage parlor

: an establishment that provides massage treatments; also : one offering sexual services in addition to or in lieu of massage

See massage parlor defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of massage parlor from the Web

Head pointed out that massage parlors are not permitted on Bourbon Street.

— kevin litten, NOLA.com, "French Quarter strip club cap rejected by City Council," 22 Mar. 2018
Setsuko reluctantly agrees, and sticks to her promise even though the school, in a dicey part of town, looks like a massage parlor.

— peter keough, BostonGlobe.com, "Japanese life on the edge in ‘Oh Lucy!’," 7 Mar. 2018
Longtime Houston police officer Robert Teweleit, 54, was arrested Oct. 4 during a 10-day sting at a massage parlor turned brothel that was taken over that month by the department.

— fernando alfonso iii, Houston Chronicle, "Texas police officer arrested and charged with misdemeanor prostitution," 17 Jan. 2018
Chris Wilburn talks about the morning raid at west side massage parlor.

— vic ryckaert, Indianapolis Star, "IMPD raids west-side massage parlor near day care. 'It's not good for the kids to see.'," 2 Mar. 2018
The hotel offers 15,000 square feet of street-level retail space, including a massage parlor, a sushi restaurant called Blue Sushi Sake Grill, and Rize for breakfast and lunch.

— nancy trejos, USA TODAY, "New hotels: Gleaming properties from Washington, D.C. to California," 16 Feb. 2018
Shutting them down is not as simple as rounding up the men and women in the massage parlor.

— jenifer mckim and phillip martin, BostonGlobe.com, "Sex traffickers are on many websites. Why is police action so rare?," 16 Jan. 2018
Authorities have seized records from only a fraction of the area’s hundreds of brothels and illicit massage parlors.

— nina burleigh, Newsweek, "Tech Bros Bought Sex Trafficking Victims by Using Amazon and Microsoft Work Emails," 21 Dec. 2017
In September, three women were arrested on prostitution charges at a Center City massage parlor with a history of arrests.

— justine mcdaniel, Philly.com, "Hundreds of Pa., N.J. massage parlors seen as fronts for sex-trafficking," 28 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'massage parlor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.