Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An establishment that provides lodging for motorists in rooms usually having direct access to an open parking area.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun lodging establishment typically featuring a series of rooms whose entrance is immediately adjacent to a parking lot, as might facilitate easy access to one's automobile during an overnight stay, particularly located near a major highway
  • noun Of or relating to a motel.
  • noun Of architecture, interior design, etc, in the style of a motel; identical and anonymous.
  • adjective any of several architectural or interior design styles associated with motels, such as "identicalness", "anonymity", or any other perceived attribute of motels, particularly as differentiated from hotels.
  • adjective characterized by an anonymous, temporary nature, as motel sex.
  • adjective property owned by a motel, as "motel towel", "motel ashtray", possibly imprinted or embroidered with the name of the establishment, frequently appropriated by tourists as a souvenir.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a motor hotel

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Blend of motor and hotel.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Blend of motor and hotel, from the original Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo, established in 1925 by Arthur Heinman

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