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Tinseltown

American  
[tin-suhl-toun] / ˈtɪn səlˌtaʊn /

noun

Informal.
  1. Hollywood, California, as a center of the movie industry.


Tinseltown British  
/ ˈtɪnsəlˌtaʊn /

noun

  1. an informal name for Hollywood

"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 Tinseltown

C20: from the insubstantial glitter of the film world

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.

A wary Tinseltown reluctantly lined up behind Netflix as the lesser of two evils, only to watch Paramount keep raising its bid until the streamer walked away.

From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026

And in fulfilling a dream they both had, the music-loving granddad has returned from Tinseltown a star in his own right.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

These hobbyist number crunchers might actually be reaching Tinseltown power brokers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

Although Hulu’s Emmy-winning comic mystery is the ultimate New York tale, its Season 4 opener sent its crime-solving lead trio to Tinseltown to pursue a movie adaptation of their popular podcast.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2025

They’re all movies from when Hollywood was called Tinseltown, and they couldn’t make explosions.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

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