Slang dictionary
Chi-town
or Chi-Town [ shahy-toun ]
What does Chi-town mean?
Chi-town is a nickname for the city of Chicago, Illinois.
Where does Chi-town come from?
One of the many nicknames for the city of Chicago, Illinois, Chi-town (or Chi-Town) can be traced back to the early 1900s. Chi is shortened from Chicago and is itself recorded as a nickname for the city (town) even earlier, in the 1890s.
Like Chi-town, other city nicknames follow a similar pattern of shortening the city’s name and adding town, such as O-Town (Orlando, Florida) and H-Town (Houston, Texas).
Several prominent uses helped popularize the term. Among them is a 1975 song by country singer C.W. McCall “Convoy,” which includes the lyrics:
By the time we hit that Chi-town
Them bears was a-gettin’ smart
They’d brought up some reinforcements
From the Illinois National Guard.
Another comes from rapper Kanye West (who spent his childhood in Chicago), who used Chi-town in his 2009 song “Homecoming:”
Jump in the crowd, spark your lighters, wave ’em around
If you don’t know by now, I’m talking ’bout Chi-Town!
Examples of Chi-town
Who uses Chi-town?
Chicago has many nicknames, the most well-known being the Windy City. Chi-town is a close follower. While Chi-town is often used by visitors, in marketing, or in popular writing about all things Chicago, many locals bristle as the nickname as something they don’t use.
✈️ gettin' on a jet plane. Layover in ATL then off to Chi-Town! ✈️
— ⚡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴᴅɪɪʟᴏʀɪᴀɴ ⚡ Commissions OPEN! 💖 (@TheMandii) January 5, 2020
Please don't call it the Big Apple. Please don't call it Chi-town. Please don't call it the Motor City. Please don't call it Beantown. Please don't call it the Big Easy. Please don't visit.
— Glass Famine (@GlassFamine) June 22, 2018
Chi-town has been featured in several prominent names. A notable Chicago New Year’s Eve event was called Chi-Town Rising, and a Chicago professional ice hockey team were named the Chi-Town Shooters. There is a 2018 documentary film called Chi-Town that follows basketball player and Chicago native Keifer Sykes.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of Chi-town like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of Chi-town that will help our users expand their word mastery.