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Synonyms

uptown

American  
[uhp-toun, uhp-toun] / ˈʌpˈtaʊn, ˈʌpˌtaʊn /

adverb

  1. to, toward, or in the upper part of a town or city.

    He rode uptown on the bus.

adjective

  1. moving toward, situated in, or pertaining to the upper part of a town.

    Take the uptown bus.

  2. of, for, or characteristic of affluent people; elegant, stylish, or luxurious.

    uptown fashions; uptown tastes.

noun

  1. the uptown section of a town or city.

    Uptown is less crowded.
uptown British  
/ ˈʌpˈtaʊn /

adjective

  1. towards, in, or relating to some part of a town that is away from the centre

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. such a part of a town, esp a residential part

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • uptowner noun

Etymology

Origin of uptown

First recorded in 1830–40; up- + town

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.

Ahmad, his wife, and his two daughters eventually settled in uptown Oklahoma City, four miles northwest of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

From Slate • Apr. 19, 2026

The 2007 opening of FX’s groundbreaking legal drama “Damages,” in which Byrne’s young lawyer, Ellen Parsons, flees an uptown New York apartment building in which something terrible has clearly happened, sparked all manner of conversation.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

"Hoffman, me, my brother, three or four other actors and singers had a place on 107th and Broadway in Manhattan, uptown," Duvall told GQ in 2014.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

On a recent afternoon, he had a copy in his wallet, along with his state ID, as he walked from his uptown apartment in Memphis, Tennessee, to a nearby corner store.

From Salon • Nov. 4, 2025

Quietly, between midnight and dawn, a dozen police cars flanked a hearse that went the twenty-odd blocks farther uptown to the Faith Temple.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

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.