Any establishment where travellers can procure lodging, food, and drink.
"The pharmacist noted that INN is an initialism of international nonproprietary name used to standardize drug names globally."
Initialism of international nonproprietary name.
In plain English: An inn is a small place where people can stay overnight and get food.
"We stopped at a quiet inn for dinner on our way home."
Usage: An inn is a small hotel or tavern that typically provides food and lodging to travelers. Do not confuse this establishment with INN, which stands for International Nonproprietary Name in medical contexts.
To house; to lodge.
"The local inn agreed to house our entire wedding party for three nights."
In plain English: To inn means to put something inside a container or vehicle for safekeeping.
"She decided to inn her favorite spot on the cliffside while watching the sunset."
Usage: Use "inn" as a verb when describing the act of providing lodging or shelter to travelers, though this usage is rare in modern English and often replaced by phrasal verbs like "put up." Be careful not to confuse it with the noun form, which refers to the building itself.
The word "inn" comes from the Old English inn, which originally meant a dwelling or room for lodging. It traveled into modern usage as a specific type of roadside accommodation while retaining its core sense of providing shelter.