Manhattan

American  

[man-hat-n, muhn-] / mænˈhæt n, mən- /

noun

1. Also called Manhattan Island.  an island in New York City surrounded by the Hudson, East, and Harlem rivers. 13½ miles (22 km) long; 2½ miles (4 km) greatest width; 22¼ sq. mi. (58 sq. km).

2. a borough of New York City approximately coextensive with Manhattan Island: chief business district of the city.

3. a city in NE Kansas, on the Kansas River.

4. (often lowercase) a cocktail made of whiskey and sweet vermouth, usually with a dash of bitters and a maraschino cherry.

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Manhattan British  

/ mən-, mænˈhætən /

noun

1. an island at the N end of New York Bay, between the Hudson, East, and Harlem Rivers: administratively (with adjacent islets) a borough of New York City; a major financial, commercial, and cultural centre. Pop: 1 537 195 (2000). Area: 47 sq km (22 sq miles)

2. a mixed drink consisting of four parts whisky, one part vermouth, and a dash of bitters

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Manhattan Cultural  

1. Island that constitutes one of the five boroughs that make up New York City. (See also Bowery, Broadway (see also Broadway), Central Park, Harlem, Park Avenue, Times Square, and World Trade Center.)

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Discover More

Because of its noise and congestion, some have viewed it as unlivable, giving rise to the phrase “It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.” In the 1990s, it experienced prosperity and a decline in crime rates.

A center of the art world (see Greenwich Village).

Center of the country's financial industry (see Wall Street), communications industry, including advertising and television (see Madison Avenue), and fashion industry (see Fifth Avenue).

The September 11 attacks left a physical and emotional scar on Manhattan.

Example Sentences

Perched on Long Island's idyllic South Shore, it is just an hour's journey via train from Manhattan.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

"It's like if the Manhattan Project announced the nuclear bomb within a cute little Calvin and Hobbes cartoon."

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

We are in Manhattan Beach and have to be back home by 12:30 p.m. for nap time.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

Amid his ongoing romance with his former Broadway co-star Sutton Foster, Jackman, 57, is making another attempt to offload his longtime Manhattan base, which he and Furness, 70, purchased for $21 million in 2008.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

In eighteen hours, it would hit the Sulzberger Ice Shelf in Antarctica, where it would knock loose an iceberg twice the size of Manhattan.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland