nickelodeon

noun
nick·​el·​ode·​on | \ ˌni-kə-ˈlō-dē-ən How to pronounce nickelodeon (audio) \

Definition of nickelodeon

1 : an early movie theater to which admission usually cost five cents
2 : jukebox

Examples of nickelodeon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By 1909, there were 42 nickelodeons adjacent to the Lower East Side and 10 uptown in Jewish Harlem. Jamie Lauren Keiles, Vox, "In the US, Jews have been eating American Chinese food on Christmas for over 100 years.," 21 Dec. 2018 The picture would be shown only in little Main Street nickelodeons, where his friends would never set foot. Longreads, "When the Movies Went West," 15 May 2018 Around the turn of the 20th century, storefront nickelodeon movie theaters joined saloons, dance halls and bowling alleys as city gathering points. John Jurgensen, WSJ, "Seeing ‘Solo’ Solo: Brave Movie Lovers Hit Theaters Alone," 4 June 2018 For over a century, the building was a neighborhood cornerstone, first as a church, then as an athletic club, and later as a nickelodeon that drew hundreds of attendees a day to its Yiddish vaudeville performances. Luis FerrÉ-sadurnÍ, New York Times, "Sunshine Cinema, a Beloved Manhattan Theater, Goes Dark," 21 Jan. 2018 New York rabbi and cultural anthropologist Joshua Eli Plaut noted there were 42 nickelodeons — 5 cent movies — in the neighborhood, the most in the city. Andrew Wolfson, The Courier-Journal, "For American Jews, Christmas is for Chinese food, movies and reflection on being different," 15 Dec. 2017 Canny immigrant garment makers, glimpsing profits in a new gadget, the nickelodeon, gave birth to America’s movie industry (even if most of that industry soon departed for sunnier Hollywood). Joseph Berger, New York Times, "The 20 Years That Made New York City," 9 Oct. 2017 My most vivid memory of my father was watching silent movies with him in a nickelodeon theater at a local museum. WSJ, "When Hollywood Executive Sherry Lansing Learned to ‘Pull Up Her Socks’," 5 July 2017 Nickelodeon The kids wouldn’t forgive me for ditching Henry Danger and The Thundermans. Andy Staples, SI.com, "With upheaval in cable market, Power 5 bet on Silicon Valley to keep rights revenue flowing," 8 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nickelodeon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of nickelodeon

1888, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for nickelodeon

probably from nickel + -odeon (as in melodeon music hall)

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