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
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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:
Hermès’ downtown 6,000-square foot Chicago location was only a 35-minute drive away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Executives were trying to solve a puzzle: They could see some clients in Chicago’s affluent North Shore suburbs weren’t buying from the downtown Chicago store.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Those properties reportedly include Parton’s Nashville home, museum, warehouse, and a downtown residence.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
On Thursday, CNN, MS NOW and Politico appeared in a downtown Washington court to urge a federal judge to extend their White House access.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
With William at the wheel, they headed for downtown Washington again so that Elizebeth could pick up a briefcase from her assistant.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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
“I am in the downtowns of every major city in the world, running conferences and events just like this,” he said at the time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
"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
Downtown Los Angeles is one of the few downtowns across the country that saw growth pre- to post-pandemic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2025
Even the brick buildings in the ramshackle little downtowns we drive past seem crisp in this light.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
