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Harlem

American  
[hahr-luhm] / ˈhɑr ləm /

noun

  1. a section of New York City, in the NE part of Manhattan.

  2. 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.


Harlem British  
/ ˈhɑːləm /

noun

  1. a district of New York City, in NE Manhattan: now largely a Black ghetto

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Harlem Cultural  
  1. Neighborhood of Manhattan.


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.

Dubbed the “Harlem of the West,” Central Avenue was the hub for Black art, literature and music, particularly jazz, between the 1920s and 1950s.

From Los Angeles Times

“Remember the Times” stretches back to Riley’s childhood in Harlem, where the playground of his elementary school abutted the parking lot behind New York’s venerable Apollo Theater.

From Los Angeles Times

Originally composed by Waller for a Harlem revue called “Connie’s Hot Chocolate,” it moved to Broadway with Louis Armstrong performing the rousing trumpet solo.

From The Wall Street Journal

The idea of history being celebrated and preserved courses through “Once Upon a Time in Harlem,” a conversational documentary belatedly assembled from a 1972 gathering of Harlem Renaissance giants at Duke Ellington’s apartment.

From Los Angeles Times

Irene, proudly black, is married to a black doctor and lives in Harlem in New York City.

From The Wall Street Journal