Meanings
plural roadhouses
- USAn inn or similar establishment situated beside a road beyond the jurisdiction of a town or city. In the centuries before motor vehicles, such inns were places for travellers to stop at night during multi-day journeys, besides being public houses for their local countryfolk.
Near-synonym: coaching inn (often synonymous, historically)
1 more example
The pub was a classic 1930s 'roadhouse'. To the railway's official mindset, it might as well have been an opium den in Victorian London.
2023 September 6, Greg Morse, “One more for the road?”, in RAIL, number 991, pages 49-50Synonyms: coaching inn
- entertainmentA receiving house.
- AustraliaA truck stop located in a remote area, with basic accommodation facilities.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn inn or similar establishment situated beside a road beyond the jurisdiction of a town or city. In the centuries before motor vehicles, such inns were places for travellers to stop at night during multi-day journeys, besides being public houses for their local countryfolk.
Origin
Translations
Czech motorest
- motorestinn situated on a transport route
Dutch wegrestaurant
- wegrestaurantinn situated on a transport route
French restoroute, routier
- restorouteinn situated on a transport route
- routierinn situated on a transport route
German Rasthaus
- Rasthausinn situated on a transport route
Italian autogrill
- autogrillinn situated on a transport route
Polish zajazd
- zajazdinn situated on a transport route
Portuguese estalagem m de beira de estrada
- estalagem m de beira de estradainn situated on a transport route
Spanish restaurante de carretera
- restaurante de carreterainn situated on a transport route
Swedish vägkrog
- vägkroginn situated on a transport route
Cite this entry
roadhouse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/roadhouse
“roadhouse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/roadhouse. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “roadhouse,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/roadhouse.
Source: roadhouse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.