new town

American

noun

(sometimes initial capital letters) a comprehensively planned, self-sufficient urban community that provides housing, educational, recreational, and commercial facilities and often serves to absorb residents from a nearby overcrowded metropolis.

new town British

noun

(in Britain) a town that has been planned as a complete unit and built with government sponsorship, esp to accommodate overspill population

"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

Etymology

Origin of new town

First recorded in 1915–20

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.

It’s a new career in a new town.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2025

A largely residential parcel of the base, Parcel A, was turned over to San Francisco and has been redeveloped with new town houses and condos.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2025

It has taken Lay Kay Kaw, a new town established for the KNU with Japanese funding in 2015, a time when there had been hopes for lasting peace in Karen State following a national ceasefire.

From BBC • Oct. 20, 2025

Labour said each new town would have at least 10,000 homes and they could collectively result in 300,000 homes being built across England over the coming decades.

From BBC • Sep. 27, 2025

Everyone else in your family found where they fit in this new town right away.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023