Definition of "public house" [public house]

• Chiefly British A place, such as a tavern or bar, that is licensed to sell alcoholic beverages. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "But still, continuing my defence of Mr Faraday — or Uncle William, as I shall always think of him — I rather fancy that if you make inquiries at every public house on the direct route from Grantchester Meadows to Socrates Close you will find that on the Sunday in question Uncle William entered a place of refreshment, took a drink and departed, probably behaving a little queerly."
• "He had the patience to pass with me three days in a public house at Goumoins, whence, by wearying him and making him feel how much he wearied me, I was in hopes of driving him away."
• "But he had no help for himself, and at Mrs Jones's he found his wife's brother-in-law seated in the bar of the public house -- that everlasting resort for American loungers -- with a cigar as usual stuck in his mouth, loafing away his time as only American frequenters of such establishments know how to do."