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:
After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the downtown area was economically depressed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
They also say a bullet train, and all the construction, would disrupt their peaceful downtown.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
In downtown Reykjavik it is the high cost of living and sovereignty that people care about most.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Hanna Yoseph, a hairstylist who runs her own business, lives in a two-bedroom unit in a towering glass building in downtown L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
“When the weather was clear,” one Washington Emergency Services staffer reported, “the road up to the mountain looked like downtown Seattle at rush hour.”
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
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
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.
