downtown

1 of 2

adjective

down·​town ˌdau̇n-ˈtau̇n 

1

: of, relating to, or located in the lower part or business center of a city or town

2

: hip, trendy

downtown music

downtown adverb

downtown

2 of 2

noun

down·​town ˌdau̇n-ˈtau̇n  ˈdau̇n-ˌtau 

: the lower part of a city or town

also : the main business district or central part of a city or town

downtowner

ˌdau̇n-ˈtau̇-nər 

noun

Synonyms

Adjective

• au courant
• cool [slang]
• def [slang]
• groovy
• hep
• hip
• in
• mod
• now
• trendy
• turned-on
• with-it

Examples of downtown in a Sentence

Adjective

the downtown clientele of this bistro come to be seen, and the food is only an afterthought

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

On Thursday, tens of thousands of spectators were downtown for the 3-mile walk that features several floats, giant balloons, marching bands, clowns, Santa, elves, holiday music and much more. —Nour Rahal, Detroit Free Press, 28 Nov. 2024

And once downtown, local hotels do their part to secretly move Hollywood stars around the city. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Sep. 2024

Noun

Head to the historic downtown for fire and art demonstrations, live ice sculpture making, music, dancing and contests. —Mindy Sink, The Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2025

The 2028 Games will be spread throughout Southern California and stretch as far south as Temecula — about 90 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles — and as far east as Oklahoma City, about 1,300 miles away, where softball and canoe slalom will be held. —Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 15 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1845, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

downtown

1 of 2 adverb

down·​town ˌdau̇n-ˈtau̇n 

: to, toward, or in the main business district

downtown

2 of 2 adjective

-ˌtau̇n

: situated downtown