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town

Syllabification: (town)
Pronunciation: /toun/

Translate town | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of town

noun

  • an urban area that has a name, defined boundaries, and local government, and that is generally larger than a village and smaller than a city.
  • the particular town under consideration, especially one’s own town:Carson was in town
  • the central part of a neighborhood, with its business or shopping area:Rachel left to drive back into town
  • British dated the chief city or town of a region:he has moved to town
  • a densely populated area, especially as contrasted with the country or suburbs:the cultural differences between town and country
  • the permanent residents of a college town as distinct from the members of the college:a rift between the city’s town and gown that resulted in a petition to the collegeOften contrasted with gown.
  • another term for township (sense 3).

Phrases

go to town

informal do something thoroughly, enthusiastically, or extravagantly:I thought I’d go to town on the redecoration

on the town

informal enjoying the entertainments, especially the nightlife, of a city or town:a lot of guys out for a night on the town

Derivatives

townish

adjective

townlet

Pronunciation: /-lit/

noun

townward

Pronunciation: /-wərd/

adjective & adverb

townwards

Pronunciation: /-wərdz/

adverb

Origin:

Old English tūn 'enclosed piece of land, homestead, village', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch tuin 'garden' and German Zaun 'fence'

town in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of town in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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