Harlem
Americannoun
-
a section of New York City, in the NE part of Manhattan.
-
a tidal river in New York City, between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, which, with Spuyten Duyvil Creek, connects the Hudson and East rivers. 8 miles (13 km) long.
noun
Discover More
During the 1920s, Harlem was the site of a great upsurge in black literature, music, and theater known as the Harlem Renaissance.
Mostly populated by African-Americans, Harlem has long been a center of black culture.
The area now contains a large Puerto Rican population and, after a period of economic decay, has experienced a revitalization.
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.
Raised in Harlem, the epicenter of African American culture, Rollins recalled that his early musical education came from the Apollo Theater where he would watch its celebrated amateur nights.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
In 2017, Rollins donated his archives to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, where it is available to the public.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
Walter Theodore Rollins was born Sept. 7, 1930, at his grandmother’s house in Harlem, the youngest of three children to parents who had immigrated from the Virgin Islands.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
A Harlem native, Base was part of a hip-hop duo with DJ E-Z Rock, a musical force that sprung to fame in 1988 with the release of It Takes Two.
From BBC • May 23, 2026
Even the white people who came to Harlem were colorful.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
