noun · verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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General-American:/moʊˈtɛl/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɛl
CMU ARPABET:M OW0 T EH1 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A type of hotel or lodging establishment, often located near a major highway, which typically features a series of rooms whose entrances are immediately adjacent to a parking lot to facilitate convenient access to parked automobiles.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: also, attributive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A low-cost short-stay hotel, often with hourly rates rather than daily rates, and notorious for permitting illicit sexual activities; love hotel.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
verb
Meaning 3
To stay in a motel or motels.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal, intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
a motor hotel
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: motor hotel, motor inn, motor lodge, tourist court, court
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh1- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *m(y)owh1éyetider. Proto-Italic *moweō Latin moveō Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin mōtorder. Middle English motour English motor Proto-Italic *hostipotjālis Latin hospitālis Old French ostel Middle French hostel French hôtelbor. English hotel blend English motel Blend of motor + hotel, from the original Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo in California, USA, established in 1925 by Arthur Heineman (1878–1974).
Across languages
Translations
72 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
motel
— type of hotel
Arabic:
مُوتِيل
(mutil)
— type of hotel
Armenian:
մոթել
(motʻel)
— type of hotel
Azerbaijani:
motel
— type of hotel
Belarusian:
матэ́ль
(matélʹ)
— type of hotel
Bulgarian:
моте́л
(motél)
— type of hotel
Burmese:
မိုတယ်
(muitai)
— type of hotel
Catalan:
motel
— type of hotel
Cherokee:
ᏧᏂᏒᏍᏗᎢ
(tsunisvsdii)
— type of hotel
Chinese Cantonese:
汽車旅店 /汽车旅店
(hei3 ce1 leoi5 dim3)
— type of hotel
Chinese:
mo͘-té-lù
— type of hotel
Chinese Mandarin:
汽車旅館 /汽车旅馆
(qìchē lǚguǎn)
— type of hotel
Cornish:
karrostel
— type of hotel
Czech:
motel
— type of hotel
Danish:
motel
— type of hotel
Dutch:
motel
— type of hotel
Esperanto:
motelo
— type of hotel
Estonian:
motell
— type of hotel
Finnish:
motelli
— type of hotel
French:
motel
— type of hotel
Galician:
motel
— type of hotel
Georgian:
მოტელი
(moṭeli)
— type of hotel
German:
Motel
— type of hotel
Greek:
μοτέλ
(motél)
— type of hotel
Hebrew:
מוֹטֶל
(motél)
— type of hotel
Hindi:
मोटेल
(moṭel)
— type of hotel
Hungarian:
motel
— type of hotel
Ido:
motelo
— type of hotel
Irish:
óstán
— type of hotel
Irish:
óstán cois bóthair
— type of hotel
Italian:
motel
— type of hotel
Italian:
autostello
— type of hotel
Italian:
autoalbergo
— type of hotel
Japanese:
モーテル
(mōteru)
— type of hotel
Japanese:
モテル
(moteru)
— type of hotel
Kazakh:
мотель
(motel)
— type of hotel
Khmer:
ម៉ូតែល
(moutael)
— type of hotel
Korean:
모텔
(motel)
— type of hotel
Kyrgyz:
мотель
(motel)
— type of hotel
Latvian:
motelis
— type of hotel
Lithuanian:
motelis
— type of hotel
Macedonian:
моте́л
(motél)
— type of hotel
Malay:
motel
— type of hotel
Manx:
carlan oast
— type of hotel
Māori:
mōtēra
— type of hotel
Norwegian Bokmål:
motell
— type of hotel
Persian:
متل
(motel)
— type of hotel
Persian:
راهسرا
— type of hotel
Polish:
motel
— type of hotel
Portuguese:
hotel de beira de estrada
— type of hotel
Romanian:
motel
— type of hotel
Russian:
моте́ль
(motɛ́lʹ)
— type of hotel
Russian:
автопансиона́т
(avtopansionát)
— type of hotel
Scottish Gaelic:
taigh-òsta motarachd
— type of hotel
