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Chinatown

American

[chahy-nuh-toun] / ˈtʃaɪ nəˌtaʊn /

noun

the main Chinese district in any city outside China.

Chinatown British

/ ˈtʃaɪnəˌtaʊn /

noun

a quarter of any city or town outside China with a predominantly Chinese population

"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 Chinatown

China + town

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.

To learn Hong Kong mahjong, I visited a warmly lit community space in Chinatown one Tuesday night.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

“I found a little place in Chinatown with no sign on the doors,” Ausman says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

“It’s nobody’s fault but my own, but I just feel it’s unfair,” said Torres, who now lives in a tent in Chinatown.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

From the expansive photo archives of his living room to a midnight shoot in the industrial heart of Chinatown, Reynaldo Rivera reveals the ghosts of Old Hollywood and the messy humanity captured in his lens.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

At the Canal Street stop Mario got off and walked over several blocks to Chinatown.

From "The Cricket in Times Square" by George Selden

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023