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townspeople

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

plural noun

  1. the inhabitants or citizenry of a town.

  2. people 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.

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

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

Ideologies also flourished, including socialism, communism, Zionism and, among a growing number of non-Jewish townspeople, Nazism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Around midnight on April 18, 1775, Revere was ordered to ride to Lexington, Mass., and warn the townspeople that British soldiers, who were quartered in Boston, were ready to head their way.

From Salon • Sep. 4, 2025

The townspeople, mostly parish leaders and local businesspeople, sat down for lunch, which was catered and free.

From Slate • Jun. 19, 2025

Then he mingled with the townspeople and asked them many questions, about their crops, their harvests, the life they led.

From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi

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.