Definition

Noun: - A place where opium is sold and used illegally: An "opium den" is a building, room, or establishment, often secretive or hidden, where people gather to buy, smoke, and consume the narcotic drug opium.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The detective raided the suspected opium den in the city's Chinatown.
  • In 19th-century literature, opium dens were often depicted as dark, smoky places of vice.
  • The old warehouse was secretly operating as an opium den.

Advanced Usage

• Historical/Cultural Context: The term "opium den" is strongly associated with the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in Western portrayals of East Asia. Its use today often carries a historical or literary connotation.
• Figurative Use: Sometimes used metaphorically to describe a place that induces a state of stupor, lethargy, or escape from reality.
  • That boring lecture hall felt like an intellectual opium den.

Variants and Related Words

• Opium joint (noun, chiefly US): A slang term with the same meaning as "opium den."
• Den (noun): A hidden or secluded place, often for wild animals or, by extension, for people engaged in secret or illicit activities (e.g., , ).

Synonyms

• Opium house: A less common synonym.
• Narcotics den: A more general term for a place where any illegal drugs are sold and used.

Related Idioms

• Den of iniquity: A place notorious for wickedness, vice, or immoral activities. An "opium den" is a specific type of den of iniquity.
  • The police chief vowed to shut down every den of iniquity in the district.

Noun

1. a building where opium is sold and used