small-town
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or characteristic of a town or village.
a typical, small-town general store.
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provincial or unsophisticated.
small-town manners.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of small-town
First recorded in 1880–85
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.
Rowbottom grew up in rural New England, a card-carrying “Horse Girl” whose parents’ divorce became small-town gossip when her father began dating her drama teacher.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026
The family didn’t personally know Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, but in their small-town Baptist circles, she felt only a degree away.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
Ricky Ross, who created the music for that show, also co-created Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil about the passion of a small-town football club.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
Talankin, 35, a videographer from a small-town Russian school, caused a sensation when he won the Academy Award for best documentary feature alongside US filmmaker David Borenstein in March.
From Barron's • May 1, 2026
She loved the friendliness of it and the small-town feel of it, the way she knew everyone out at the country club or at the store, the way the gossip made an easy circle.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
