deadfall

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

A cheap, rough bar or saloon.

Register: slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

Dens of the description of the "Tapis Franc," and the "deadfalls" of San Francisco and Sacramento, are now matters of history only, and it seems beyond the bounds of probability that similar haunts of vice, and the brutal and lawless scenes there enacted, will ever again be permitted to disgrace our

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “deadfall” mean?

A cheap, rough bar or saloon.

Is “deadfall” formal or informal?

deadfall is generally slang.