Chinatown

[ chahy-nuh-toun ]

/ ˈtʃaɪ nəˌtaʊn /

noun

the main Chinese district in any city outside China.

Origin of Chinatown

China + town

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chinatown

Further along the sofa, and tranquilly silent, sat Amy Li, whose Chinatown gallery is housing Net Band Command.
A ‘Truman Show’ For Today: The Return of Josh Harris|Anthony Haden-Guest|July 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Chinatown, for instance, is a kind of smart trickery that is rewarding.
How ‘True Detective’ Will End|Andrew Romano|March 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fung Wah is the best-known Chinatown bus company—a cultural icon for those of a certain age and demographic.
The Government’s Cheap, Dishonest Campaign Against the Chinatown Bus Industry|Jim Epstein|November 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Not so long ago, the Chinatown bus industry was subject to fierce price wars.
The Government’s Cheap, Dishonest Campaign Against the Chinatown Bus Industry|Jim Epstein|November 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Everybody already knew there were Chinese in Chinatown and Italians in Little Italy.
NYPD on the Real ‘Enemies Within’: Going Undercover With Jihadis|Michael Daly|September 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
On the very first day of his holidays he was become the central figure of a Chinatown drama.
Tales of Chinatown|Sax Rohmer
Why, yesterday, when he was supposed to be in Burlingame, Clara had seen him in Chinatown.
The Coast of Chance|Esther Chamberlain
San Francisco's famous Chinatown, the greatest settlement of the Celestials on this continent, went down like a house of cards.
The San Francisco Calamity|Various
They approached the center of Chinatown, keeping in 124 the shadows whenever possible.
The Gray Phantom's Return|Herman Landon
She is the daughter of a rich Pekin Mandarin, who has sold her to an equally rich merchant here in Chinatown.
The Bradys After a Chinese Princess|Francis Worcester Doughty

British Dictionary definitions for chinatown

Chinatown

/ (ˈtʃaɪnəˌtaʊn) /

noun

a quarter of any city or town outside China with a predominantly Chinese population

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

Word Origin and History for chinatown

Chinatown

1857 in California, from China + town. But from 1852 in a St. Helena context.