# motel

> English word · Noun · IPA /moʊˈtɛl/ · frequency rank #12,811

## Definitions
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.
2. A low-cost short-stay hotel, often with hourly rates rather than daily rates, and notorious for permitting illicit sexual activities; love hotel.

## Etymology
Blend of motor + hotel, from the original Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo in California, USA, established in 1925 by Arthur Heineman (1878–1974).

## Easily confused with
- **move** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-move)
- **mute** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-mute)
- **moth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-moth)
- **moto** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-moto)
- **mott** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-mott)
- **moved** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-moved)
- **moves** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-moves)
- **motor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-motor)
- **motto** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-motto)
- **muted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-muted)
- **motif** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-motif)
- **moths** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-moths)
- **mover** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-mover)
- **mower** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-mower)
- **mowed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-mowed)
- **mother** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-mother)
- **motley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motel-vs-motley)
- **mel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mel-vs-motel)
- **moe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moe-vs-motel)
- **mol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mol-vs-motel)

## Common misspellings (7)
`mmotel`, `moetl`, `motell`, `motle`, `mottel`, `mtoel`, `omtel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/motel