downtown

[ doun-toun ]

adverb

1. to or in the main business section of a city.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or situated in the main business section of a city.

noun

1. the main business section of a city.

downtown

/ ˈdaʊnˈtaʊn /

noun

1. the central or lower part of a city, esp the main commercial area

adverb

1. towards, to, or into this area

adjective

1. of, relating to, or situated in the downtown area

   downtown Manhattan

Derived Forms

• ˈdownˈtowner, noun

Other Words From

• downtowner noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of downtown¹

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; down ¹ + town

Example Sentences

Washington subscribers include Yours Truly in the West End and Sofitel downtown.

From Washington Post

It’s worth the extended detour into the city of Boise, Idaho, where skiing at Bogus Basin is less than an hour from downtown.

From Outside Online

That means temperatures only fall modestly overnight, from the mid-20s in our colder spots to around 30 downtown.

From Washington Post

Quite cold overnight, with temperatures in the teens outside the Beltway and low 20s downtown.

From Washington Post

San Diego is known for its iconic scenes — we’ve got beaches, Balboa Park and the downtown skyline just to name a few.

From Voice of San Diego

Soon thereafter, Bentivolio was asked to play Santa in downtown Milford and became a professional.

From The Daily Beast

He speaks while sipping a soda in the restaurant of the Residence Victoria in downtown Kisangani.

From The Daily Beast

It was headquartered in Stanleyville, in a tall corner building that still stands in the decrepit, yet lively, downtown.

From The Daily Beast

Will and Kate will start with a visit to the 9/11 Memorial downtown, and end with a monster fundraiser at the Met.

From The Daily Beast

Just downtown shone the Freedom Tower, which has risen where the World Trade Center came down in the 9/11 attacks.

From The Daily Beast

The first time she had leave to go downtown she made an excuse to go into a book store and purchase a copy.

From Project Gutenberg

He rode downtown with Louis and they went over to that same East side hotel and Louis went upstairs.

From Project Gutenberg

Bill Chadwick, another classmate of mine, came up from downtown, and met us at the church door.

From Project Gutenberg

She was quite sure that he had not expected to spend the afternoon downtown, and she wondered what was troubling him.

From Project Gutenberg

The problem of providing social opportunity faced the downtown churches.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• central
• main
• metropolitan
• urban