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inn

IN/ɪn/

Pluralinns

5 meanings of inn

Practice

  1. 1
    for travelersnouncountable
    A hotel or pub, often an old one, where travelers can stay, eat or drink. Modern hotel chains use the name too.

    We stayed at a little inn by the sea.

    The inn had six rooms and a warm fire in the dining room.

    UsageOften used in names and in country inn. An ordinary city hotel is usually called a hotel.

    Similarhotel, lodge

    Note
  2. 2
    law collegenouncountable
    One of the groups in London for law students and lawyers, or the buildings where they meet.

    He is training to be a barrister and is a member of Gray's Inn.

    The old Inn has a library full of law books.

    UsageWrite it with a capital I: the Inns of Court.

    Note
  3. 3
    town housenoundatedBritishcountable
    The house in town where a lord or other important person lives.

    Every winter the lord moved into his inn, the big house he kept in the city.

    The bishop's inn in London was his home whenever he came to court.

    Similarresidence, mansion, townhouse

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    nounobsolete
    A place to shelter, or the place where someone lives.
    Therefore with me ye may take vp your In / For this ſame night.
    1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie QueeneHere, In means a place to stay, so you can find shelter with me tonight.
    But nowe ſadde Winter welked hath the day, / And Phœbus weary of his yerely taſ-ke: / Yſtabled hath his ſteedes in lowlye laye / And taken vp his ynne in Fiſhes haſ-ke.
    1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Nouember. Ægloga Vndecima.”Here, ynne means a home or dwelling, where the sun god takes shelter.
    Note
  2. 5
    put upverbobsoleteintransitive
    An old word meaning to stay somewhere for the night, or to give someone a place to stay.
    We inned at the signe of the Swan.
    circa 1570, Foxe, A. & M. (1596)Here, inned means stayed as guests for the night.
    I never innd in the Towne but once.
    1606, Sir G. Goosecappe I, iiiHere, innd means stayed or lodged as a guest.
    Note

Practice

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Origin

From Old English inn, which meant a house or a place to stay.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact