gentrify
Americanverb (used with object)
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to alter (a deteriorated urban neighborhood) through the buying and renovation of houses and stores by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, raising property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses.
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to conform to an upper- or middle-class lifestyle; make appealing to those with more affluent tastes.
Fish and chips have been gentrified.
verb (used without object)
Other Word Forms
- gentrifier noun
Etymology
Origin of gentrify
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.
Organizers fear the office-centric development, with a K Line stop onsite, will further gentrify the neighborhood.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2022
Working with UC Berkeley city and regional planning professor Karen Chapelle, she found those census tracts closest to the stations were much more likely to gentrify, especially if they were already seeing rising housing prices.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2022
Rundown apartments are still a hazard, but displacement has become public enemy No. 1 in housing policy as city neighborhoods gentrify and awareness of the importance of stability grows.
From Slate • Feb. 8, 2022
“I could go stand there with a sign and say ‘don’t gentrify this Black community, hashtag cancel’ or I could actually do something more permanent,” she said.
From New York Times • Dec. 7, 2021
He said the effort was a misguided attempt to gentrify blighted neighborhoods under the guise of fighting crime — a claim disputed by city leaders.
From Washington Post
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.
