motel

noun

mo·​tel mō-ˈtel 

: an establishment which provides lodging and parking and in which the rooms are usually accessible from an outdoor parking area

Examples of motel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Grissom’s portrait is one of seven hanging in the lobby of Cape Colony Inn, a motel the seven original astronauts once owned here. —Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026

Join us next week to find out what happened to a woman who, left stranded after her Greyhound bus broke down, ended up sharing a motel room with two nuns. —Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 24 Jan. 2026

If the developer wins, a modern tower would rise 183 feet high on a 3-acre section of the barrier island that’s currently home to nearly a dozen motel properties that stand one or two stories tall. —Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 24 Jan. 2026

Her lone series-regular role was on the NBC sitcom Happy, starring with Ronnie Burns as a young married couple who run a posh motel. —Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 23 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

blend of motor and hotel

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for motel

• barbell
• bedwell
• befell
• bluebell
• bombshell
• bridewell
• capelle
• cartel
• carvel
• clamshell
• cogswell
• compel

Kids Definition

motel

noun

mo·​tel mō-ˈtel 

: a building or group of buildings which provide lodgings and in which the rooms are usually reached directly from an outdoor parking lot