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.

See Examples For:

new town

Nearby, a new town of 6.2 square kilometres is under construction, "three times the size of Monaco", according to the site's owners, Lamda Development.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

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 even lost Lay Kay Kaw, a new town built with Japanese funding in 2015 for the KNU, at a time when it was part of a ceasefire agreement with the central government.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2025

The TV architect grew up in council housing in a new town, Washington, in the north-east of England, which he said was a "very humane piece of design".

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2025

He also understood its essential importance in giving his family a feeling of place and belonging in a new town.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

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