Harlem
Americannoun
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a section of New York City, in the NE part of Manhattan.
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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
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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.
At close to two-and-a-half hours with a story that stretches from Harlem to Southeast Asia, “American Gangster” hardly seems like Small Ridley at first glance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
He drifted into Harlem theatrical work and met a fellow 19-year-old who would become a lifelong friend—Sidney Poitier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
After the deaths of their parents, the aging bluebloods holed up in their stately Harlem rowhouse, once a picture of Gilded Age polish, and became a public curiosity.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
The sources of the outbreak were later identified as cooling towers at Harlem Hospital and the nearby site of the city's new public health laboratory.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
I flip back to the spread about Miss Rose-Meta and her beauty salon in Harlem.
From "Betty Before X" by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson
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.
