motel

[ moh-tel ]

noun

1. a hotel providing travelers with lodging and free parking facilities, typically a roadside hotel having rooms adjacent to an outside parking area or an urban hotel offering parking within the building.

motel

/ məʊˈtɛl /

noun

1. a roadside hotel for motorists, usually having direct access from each room or chalet to a parking space or garage

Word History and Origins

Origin of motel¹

First recorded in 1920–25; blend of motor and hotel

Word History and Origins

Origin of motel¹

C20: from motor + hotel

Example Sentences

The 69-year street vendor said she lives in a motel near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, arriving there after a stint of homelessness that occurred when code enforcement forced her to move from an illegal garage she rented for around $500 a month.

From Los Angeles Times

A second site, a Motel 6 turned into a 56-room shelter, also had problems, adjacent business owners said.

From Los Angeles Times

Jason Perez, who operates a diner, Mr. Rosewood Family Restaurant, next door to the motel, said circumstances were “a disaster scene every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.”

From Los Angeles Times

This summer it opened a 20 units of permanent housing in a motel conversion funded by state Project Homekey and obtained a county grant to double the size of its tiny home village.

From Los Angeles Times

“Toy Story of Terror” from 2013, originally produced at the corporate nexus of Disney, Pixar and ABC, offers a delightful meta take on horror tropes — rainy night, roadside motel, characters imprudently wandering off.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cabin
• hotel
• inn
• lodge
• resort