Word.ws English Dictionary

honky-tonks

honky-tonks is the plural of honky-tonk.

Meaning of honky-tonk

Noun

honky-tonk (countable and uncountable, plural honky-tonks)

  1. (US) A bar or nightclub that caters to Southern patrons and provides country music for entertainment.
    • But I made a vow to the moon and stars / That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars / And kill that man who gave me that awful name1969, Shel Silverstein, “A Boy Named Sue”, performed by Johnny Cash
  2. (dated) Any cheap nightclub.
  3. (dated, uncountable) The type of music typically played in such a club.
  4. (uncountable) A style of country music emphasizing traditional country instruments (e.g., guitar, steel guitar and fiddle); a rough, nasal vocal style; and tragic themes such as heartbreak, infidelity and alcoholism often associated with patrons of honky-tonks.

See all 5 meanings of honky-tonk

Questions about honky-tonks

What is honky-tonks the plural of?
Honky-tonks is the plural of honky-tonk.

Words near honky-tonks in the dictionary

  1. honky-tonk
  2. honky-tonk piano
  3. honky-tonk pianos
  4. honky-tonker
  5. honky-tonkers
  6. honky-tonks
  7. honkydom
  8. honkyness
  9. honkynut
  10. honkynuts
  11. honkytonk

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: honky-tonks (page history and authors); honky-tonk (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “honky-tonks.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/honky-tonks. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.