club

1 a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment hit the prisoner with a club if he tries anything funny Synonyms bastinado (or bastinade), bat, baton, billy, billy club, bludgeon, cane, cudgel, nightstick, rod, rung [Scottish], sap, shillelagh (also shillalah), staff, truncheon, waddy [Australian] Related Words blackjack, knobkerrie, mace; birch, crabstick, hickory, rattan, stave, switch; beetle, gavel, hammer, mallet, maul, sledgehammer; crook, crosier (or crozier), walking stick, whangee

2 the meeting place of an organization the Elks gather at their club every Monday evening Synonyms clubhouse, lodge Related Words den, hangout, haunt, hideaway, hideout, lair; camp, headquarters; conventicle, hall, house, meetinghouse

3 a group of persons formally joined together for some common interest an alumni club Synonyms board, brotherhood, chamber, association, college, congress, consortium, council, fellowship, fraternity, guild (also gild), institute, institution, league, order, organization, society, sodalityRelated Words collective, commune, community, cooperative; alliance, bloc, camp, coalition, partnership; body, cadre, group; circle, clan, clique, coterie, junta, junto, klatch (also klatsch), lot, set; crew, outfit, party, squad, team; branch, chapter, local; faithful, fold, membership; sisterhood, sorority; cabal, camarilla, camorra, confederacy, conspiracy; band, gang, ring; cartel, combine, syndicate

4 a bar or restaurant offering special nighttime entertainment (as music, dancing, or comedy acts) a weekly newspaper column devoted to current happenings on the local club scene Synonyms bistro, boîte, cabaret, café (also cafe), nightclub, nightspot, nitery (also niterie), roadhouse, supper clubRelated Words a-go-go, disco, discotheque (or discothéque); barroom, pub [chiefly British], public house [chiefly British], saloon, tavern; clip joint [slang], dive, honky-tonk, key club, speakeasy; canteen, watering hole, watering place