salon

Everyday

1. A salon is a shop where people go to have their hair cut or styled, their nails done or their skin treated. tree →
2. (old-fashioned, formal) A salon is an elegant sitting room in a big house where guests are received. tree →
3. (history) A salon was a meeting of writers, artists and thinkers at a rich person's home, especially in France. tree →
4. A salon can be an art exhibition, as in the famous Paris Salon. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life it is mostly a hair salon, beauty salon or nail salon. In history lessons it is the place where people talked about books and ideas in the 1700s and 1800s. Phrases: hair salon, beauty salon, nail salon, tanning salon.

Examples

• Mum has an appointment at the hair salon on Saturday. tree →
• The salon smelled of shampoo and hair spray. tree →
• My big sister works in a nail salon. tree →
• The guests waited in the grand salon of the palace. tree →
• In old Paris, rich women held salons where writers shared ideas. tree →
• The painting was shown at the Paris Salon. tree →
• The salon was busy before the school dance. tree →

Note

Plural salons. Stress on the first syllable in UK English (SAL-on), often the second in US English (sa-LON). Do not confuse with «saloon» (an old-style bar in a Western, or a UK word for a car with a separate boot).