Manhattan
Americannoun
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Also called Manhattan Island. an island in New York City surrounded by the Hudson, East, and Harlem rivers. 13½ miles (22 km) long; 2½ miles (4 km) greatest width; 22¼ sq. mi. (58 sq. km).
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a borough of New York City approximately coextensive with Manhattan Island: chief business district of the city.
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a city in NE Kansas, on the Kansas River.
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(often lowercase) a cocktail made of whiskey and sweet vermouth, usually with a dash of bitters and a maraschino cherry.
noun
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an island at the N end of New York Bay, between the Hudson, East, and Harlem Rivers: administratively (with adjacent islets) a borough of New York City; a major financial, commercial, and cultural centre. Pop: 1 537 195 (2000). Area: 47 sq km (22 sq miles)
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a mixed drink consisting of four parts whisky, one part vermouth, and a dash of bitters
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Because of its noise and congestion, some have viewed it as unlivable, giving rise to the phrase “It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.” In the 1990s, it experienced prosperity and a decline in crime rates.
A center of the art world (see Greenwich Village).
Center of the country's financial industry (see Wall Street), communications industry, including advertising and television (see Madison Avenue), and fashion industry (see Fifth Avenue).
The September 11 attacks left a physical and emotional scar on Manhattan.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One place they definitely are, though, is in this building in Manhattan, right out there in the open for anyone to see.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
“This is one of the few remaining opportunities in Manhattan to consolidate your entire organization under one roof,” the site says.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
There’s a new flagship in Manhattan and it’s huge!
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
After an Anthropic employee put the chances of AI doing that at more than 10%, economist Owen Lamont quipped that it was “like Robert Oppenheimer doing an IPO for the Manhattan Project in 1945.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
When the pieces were cleared, he was tied with four other players for fourth place, just one point away from the winner, Arthur Bisguier, a fellow member of the Manhattan Chess Club.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
