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:
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
The “very strong” El Niño of 2015-16 was a dry one for Southern California, with downtown L.A. getting only half its annual rainfall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
On Wednesday morning, a sea of people snaked around a downtown warehouse in San Francisco, waiting to get into the hottest event in town: the Claude Founder House, hosted by Anthropic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“We have a house in Sandy Springs, which I don’t particularly like. I just don’t. I’m just being honest. But downtown, like Inman Park and all that, I love.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 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
Office and retail properties suffered after urban downtowns were hollowed out by remote work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
When it was built, the mall was part of a trend among commercial builders to create mini downtowns for cities that lacked them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 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
"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.
