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townspeople

American  
[tounz-pee-puhl] / ˈtaʊnzˌpi pəl /

plural noun

  1. the inhabitants or citizenry of a town.

  2. people person who were raised in a town or city.

townspeople British  
/ ˈtaʊnzˌpiːpəl, ˈtaʊnzˌfəʊk /

noun

  1. the inhabitants of a town; citizens

"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 townspeople

First recorded in 1640–50; town + 's 1 + people

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.

Dharmendra Prasad, a 37-year-old taxi driver living far below the lake in the town of Rangpo Forest, awoke to a commotion, as townspeople desperately scrambled to get to higher ground.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Municipal police and firefighters were nowhere to be seen, she and other townspeople said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

In the theater, the townspeople ate and listened to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center’s administrator, Shad Rice, speak.

From Slate • Jun. 19, 2025

His appearance even encourages introspection among the townspeople.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2025

There were still search parties, but the number of participating townspeople had shrunk dramatically, and almost no students remained at all.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

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.