downtown
Americanadverb
adjective
noun
-
downtowns
plural
noun
adverb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of downtown
Explanation
Downtown is the area of a city that's the busiest, with the most shops, restaurants, buildings, and pedestrians. You can usually take a bus, train, or subway to get around downtown. The widespread use of downtown probably started in New York City during the early 19th century. The original city hub was located at the southern tip of Manhattan, and as development proceeded northward, New Yorkers began to distinguish between downtown and uptown. In many cities today, downtown doesn't refer to the southern area of the city, just its heart or center.
Vocabulary lists containing downtown
Spelling Practice 1, Unit 7
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"Ballad of Birmingham" by Dudley Randall
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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.
See Examples For:
The neighborhood is close to downtown and Johns Hopkins Hospital, where Miller works, and to subway, light-rail and train stations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
In Noblesville, Ind., where the White River flows through the city’s downtown, more than 550 residential units were affected by the flood, said Mayor Chris Jensen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Piercing artist Adam Teague, 44, is a gay, heavily-tattooed Democrat working in downtown Kingsport.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
I wasn’t able to get downtown so I would go to Home Depot and buy rings and bolts and I would just put them on the clothes and build things around it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
I did see her once downtown, when my folks were taking me to visit our lawyer.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
Public officials like the win-win: It addresses both their housing shortages and the overhang of empty office space plaguing downtowns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
When it was built, the mall was part of a trend among commercial builders to create mini downtowns for cities that lacked them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
In addition, “many condo buildings are located in urban downtowns, which are less attractive than they used to be for people who now work from home at least part-time,” the paper reported.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 14, 2026
"Carriers really appreciate Freightera's reliable demand for service, which has grown every year consistently, right through Covid, the inflation afterwards and the current freight recession, one of the largest running freight downtowns," he says.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2025
Like several old Hudson River downtowns in the region, from Peekskill to Poughkeepsie, the neighborhood has seen better days.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
