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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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:
Ahead of the album’s release, Rideaux, Asghedom and their teams are prepping to host “The Prolific Experience”— a playback session and panel discussion at The Novo in downtown Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
The wreck in the Danube was reportedly discovered on 2 August, when a passersby reported part of the motorcycle protruding from the rocks on the riverbank in downtown Budapest.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
"The plant's going to be open regardless of whether we're at war or whether we're not," says Daniel Overstreet, 53, standing next to his Harley Davidson in downtown Kingsport.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
The estate is less than a 30-minute drive from downtown Los Angeles.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The downtown flattened out to weedy lots strewn between plain brick and wooden clapboard buildings.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
As land values surged and horizontal growth became constrained, elevators and downtowns together climbed vertically from the steel-frame towers of the late 19th century to the glass supertalls that shape today’s skylines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 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
Manville said other U.S. metropolitan areas have much denser downtowns and a greater contrast in density with surrounding suburbs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 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
I’m holed up in one of Tokyo’s dozen downtowns, registered under a false name at this hotel.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
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.
