Town

/ˈtaʊ̯n/ · noun

Meaning

A settlement; an area with residential districts, shops and amenities, and its own local government; especially one larger than a village and smaller than a city, historically enclosed by a fence or walls, with total populations ranging from several hundred to more than a hundred thousand (as of the early 21st century).

Definitions by Sense

1. A settlement; an area with residential districts, shops and amenities, and its own local government; especially one larger than a village and smaller than a city, historically enclosed by a fence or walls, with total populations ranging from several hundred to more than a hundred thousand (as of the early 21st century)
2. Any more urbanized centre than the place of reference.
3. (UK, historical) A rural settlement in which a market was held at least once a week.
4. The residents (as opposed to gown: the students, faculty, etc.) of a community which is the site of a university.
5. (colloquial, used without an article) Used to refer to a town or similar entity under discussion.
6. A major city, especially one where the speaker is located.
7. (informal, real estate) A townhouse.
8. (law) A municipal organization, such as a corporation, defined by the laws of the entity of which it is a part.

Example Sentences

This town is really dangerous because these youngsters have Beretta handguns.

Apparently the first reference to the making of the town walls of Stafford (it appears pretty clear that the town was never surrounded by one continuous wall or stockade, but partly by one and partly by the other) occurs in the Patent Rolls, from which we find that in 1225 permission was granted by the king to the "good men of Stafford” to collect customs or tolls for a period to enable them to enclose the town.

Walls separated town and country through much of the early modern period. Walls not only protected towns, they also helped give them a sense of autonomy and identity.

Fortifications and town walls clearly highlight the central military significance of towns.

As towns continue to grow, replanting vegetation has become a form of urban utopia and green roofs are spreading fast. Last year 1m square metres of plant-covered roofing was built in France, as much as in the US, and 10 times more than in Germany, the pioneer in this field. In Paris 22 hectares of roof have been planted, out of a potential total of 80 hectares.

The medieval town, at least in continental Europe, was walled, and without its defences it was no town.

I'll be in Yonkers, then I'm driving into town to see the Knicks at the Garden tonight.

Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair.

Synonyms for town

Antonyms for town

Related Words

Word Forms

• towns
• tahn
• tawn
• toon
• toune
• towne

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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