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

The 600 attendees who had crammed themselves into a D.C. town house that evening were typical Washington creatures: political staffers, journalists, do-gooder nonprofit types.

From Slate • Dec. 23, 2025

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 • Jan. 25, 2025

Now, it wasn’t totally a surprise: My wife and I have been renting in this neighborhood for more than eight years, two in our town house.

From Slate • Jan. 20, 2024

Proposals included modifying the town house or building something completely new.

From BBC • Oct. 26, 2023

He forgets to remove his mask when he leaves, and when he finds it discarded in his town house the next day, he cannot remember where it came from.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

• city center
• courthouse