1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

fleabag

noun

Definition of fleabagnext
as in flophouse

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fleabag 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fleabag
  1. flophouse
  2. boardinghouse
  3. motel
  4. dormitory
  5. dorm
Noun
  • Our flophouse in Harlem was growing crowded.
    — Zayd Ayers Dohrn, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Back in the day, the LaSalle Hotel was a flophouse, just about the only place for downtown residents.
    — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 25 Mar. 2026
Definition of flophouse
Noun
  • Set in 1940s Mexico, the book follows a con artist who becomes intertwined in the schemes of a boardinghouse owner and her niece.
    — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026
  • As always, verisimilitude and the supernatural exist side by side in this tale of the denizens of a boardinghouse in Pittsburgh.
    — Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 15 May 2026
Definition of boardinghouse
Noun
  • The shop front was soon tricked out to double as Axl’s chair set and the room out back was filled with cheesy furniture to look like a motel room.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026
  • John gets the upper hand and nearly takes the ring, before one of Zoe’s satellite weapons blows up half the motel, forcing Hal to use what little charge is left in the ring to protect himself and John.
    — Joe Otterson, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of motel
Noun
  • And in August 2018, Braeden Bradforth, 19, was found unconscious in an alley outside his dormitory after the first day of football conditioning at Garden City Community College.
    — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 30 Aug. 2026
  • At the center Tuesday afternoon, about a dozen residents gathered with pets and assorted belongings as a team of volunteers worked to set up a dormitory in the center’s gymnasium.
    — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of dormitory
Noun
  • Their one-night stand at his college dorm veers, throughout the years, into the unexpected twists and turns of an authentically modern love story.
    — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Samara Cyn has gone from writing poetry in her Arizona State University dorm to performing on tour across Europe.
    — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of dorm

Browse Nearby Words

flays
fleabag
fleabags
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fleabag.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fleabag. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of aggrandize

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All