ghost town

American  

noun

1. a town permanently abandoned by its inhabitants, as because of a business decline or because a nearby mine has been worked out.

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ghost town British  

noun

1. a deserted town, esp one in the western US that was formerly a boom town

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ghost town Cultural  

1. A town, especially a boomtown in the old American West, that has been completely abandoned and deserted: “If you drive through the desert, you can still see the main street of Dry Gulch, a ghost town.”

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ghost town Idioms  

1. A once thriving town that has been completely abandoned, as in Many of the old mining communities are ghost towns now. This idiom implies that there are no living people left in town. [First half of 1900s]

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Etymology

Origin of ghost town

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Early Saturday, an overcast Islamabad felt like a ghost town, with almost no civilian traffic on its wide avenues.

From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026

“Instead of a ghost town of property, these campuses could be reused for intergenerational connection and collaboration.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

Economics student Mohammed Olayinka said the campus was "a bit of a ghost town", adding some thought it best to stay, but others "panicked and left".

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

The city was otherwise a ghost town, with many local businesses closed for the day in sympathy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026

It was as empty and as dead-looking as a ghost town.

From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English