town house

American  

Or townhouse

noun

1. a house in the city, especially as distinguished from a house in the country owned by the same person.

2. a luxurious house in a large city, occupied entirely by one family.

3. one of a row of houses joined by common sidewalls.

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town house British  

noun

1. a terraced house in an urban area, esp a fashionable one, often having the main living room on the first floor with an integral garage on the ground floor

2. a person's town residence as distinct from his country residence

3. another name (now chiefly Scot) for town hall

4. Also called: row house.   terraced house.  a house that is part of a terrace

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Etymology

Origin of town house

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

I grin and look out the window—but my smile wavers as I regard my parents’ navy-bricked town house.

From Literature

“It is, but my heavens! Is this what passes for a town house in London?”

From Literature

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

Erin Kyle, her teenage daughter and her daughter’s best friend, who had spent the night at their town house in the Palisades Highlands, were speeding down the mountain, smoke billowing around them.

From Los Angeles Times

The mid-day sun felt summer hot, and there was little movement despite a dense line of town houses that were either glaring white or oddly dark; the effect was like a mouth with missing teeth.

From Salon

Related Words

• city center
• courthouse