Airbnb

Meanings

Proper Noun

• An American vacation rental online marketplace company based in San Francisco, California, founded in 2008.

Noun

• The system of renting out apartments by means of an intermediary website, popularized by the company of the same name.
• An apartment offered for renting by means of this system.

Verb

• To rent (an apartment) by Airbnb or similar means, whether as a lessor or a lessee.
• To pursue this activity by Airbnb or similar means, whether as a lessor or a lessee.

Origin

• Shortening of the company's former name AirBed & Breakfast, coined by co-founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia in 2007, who originally came up with the idea of putting an air mattress in their living room and turning it into a bed and breakfast. Equivalent to air + B&B.