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town - 7 dictionary results

town

  [toun]
Use town in a Sentence
–noun
1. a thickly populated area, usually smaller than a city and larger than a village, having fixed boundaries and certain local powers of government.
2. a densely populated area of considerable size, as a city or borough.
3. (esp. in New England) a municipal corporation with less elaborate organization and powers than a city.
4. (in most U.S. states except those of New England) a township.
5. any urban area, as contrasted with its surrounding countryside.
6. the inhabitants of a town; townspeople; citizenry.
7. the particular town or city in mind or referred to: living on the outskirts of town; to be out of town.
8. a nearby or neighboring city; the chief town or city in a district: I am staying at a friend's apartment in town.
9. the main business or shopping area in a town or city; downtown.
10. British.
a. a village or hamlet in which a periodic market or fair is held.
b. any village or hamlet.
11. Scot. a farmstead.
–adjective
12. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or belonging to a town: town laws; town government; town constable.
—Idioms
13. go to town, Informal.
a. to be successful.
b. to do well, efficiently, or speedily: The engineers really went to town on those plans.
c. to lose restraint or inhibition; overindulge.
14. on the town,
a. Informal. in quest of entertainment in a city's nightclubs, bars, etc.; out to have a good time: a bunch of college kids out on the town.
b. supported by the public charity of the state or community; on relief.
15. paint the town. paint (def. 16).
Origin:
bef. 900; ME toun, tun, OE tūn walled or fenced place, courtyard, farmstead, village; c. ON tūn homefield, G Zaun fence, OIr dún fort

Related forms:
townless, adjective

Synonyms:
1. See community.

Town

  [toun]
–noun
Ith⋅i⋅el  [ith-ee-uhl] , 1784–1844, U.S. architect.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To town
town   (toun)   
n.  
    1. A population center that is larger than a village and smaller than a city.
    2. A territorial and political unit governed by a town meeting, especially in New England.
    3. Informal A city: New York is a big town.
    4. Chiefly British A rural village that has a market or fair periodically.
    5. The residents of a town: The whole town was upset at the news.
  2. An area that is more densely populated or developed than the surrounding area: going into town to shop.
  3. The residents of a community in which a university or college is located, as opposed to the students and faculty: a dispute pitting town against gown.
  4. A group of prairie dog burrows.

[Middle English, from Old English tūn, enclosed place, village; see dheuə- in Indo-European roots.]
Town   (toun)   
American architect particularly known for the design and construction of truss bridges.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Town

Town\, n. [OE. toun, tun, AS. tun inclosure, fence, village, town; akin to D. tuin a garden, G. zaun a hadge, fence, OHG. zun, Icel. tun an inclosure, homestead, house, Ir. & Gael. dun a fortress, W. din. Cf. Down, adv. & prep., Dune, tine to inclose.]

1. Formerly: (a) An inclosure which surrounded the mere homestead or dwelling of the lord of the manor. [Obs.] (b) The whole of the land which constituted the domain. [Obs.] (c) A collection of houses inclosed by fences or walls. [Obs.] --Palsgrave.

2. Any number or collection of houses to which belongs a regular market, and which is not a city or the see of a bishop. [Eng.] --Johnson.

3. Any collection of houses larger than a village, and not incorporated as a city; also, loosely, any large, closely populated place, whether incorporated or not, in distinction from the country, or from rural communities.

God made the country, and man made the town. --Cowper.

4. The body of inhabitants resident in a town; as, the town voted to send two representatives to the legislature; the town voted to lay a tax for repairing the highways.

5. A township; the whole territory within certain limits, less than those of a country. [U. S.]

6. The court end of London;-- commonly with the.

7. The metropolis or its inhabitants; as, in winter the gentleman lives in town; in summer, in the country.

Always hankering after the diversions of the town. --Addison.

Stunned with his giddy larum half the town. --Pope.

Note: The same form of expressions is used in regard to other populous towns.

8. A farm or farmstead; also, a court or farmyard. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Note: Town is often used adjectively or in combination with other words; as, town clerk, or town-clerk; town-crier, or town crier; townhall, town-hall, or town hall; townhouse, town house, or town-house.

Syn: Village; hamlet. See Village.

Town clerk, an office who keeps the records of a town, and enters its official proceedings. See Clerk.

Town cress (Bot.), the garden cress, or peppergrass. --Dr. Prior.

Town house. (a) A house in town, in distinction from a house in the country. (b) See Townhouse.

Town meeting, a legal meeting of the inhabitants of a town entitled to vote, for the transaction of public bisiness. [U. S.]

Town talk, the common talk of a place; the subject or topic of common conversation.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : town
Spanish: ciudad,
German: die Stadt,
Japanese: 町
More Translations »

town 
O.E. tun "enclosure, enclosed land with buildings," later "village," from P.Gmc. *tunaz, *tunan (cf. O.S., O.N., O.Fris. tun "fence, hedge," M.Du. tuun "fence," Du. tuin "garden," O.H.G. zun, Ger. Zaun "fence, hedge"), an early borrowing from Celtic *dunom (cf. O.Ir. dun, Welsh din "fortress, fortified place, camp;" see down (n.2)). Meaning "inhabited place larger than a village" (1154) arose after the Norman conquest, to correspond to Fr. ville. The modern word is partially a generic term, applicable to cities of great size as well as places intermediate between a city and a village; such use is unusual, the only parallel is perhaps L. oppidium, which occasionally was applied to Rome or Athens (each of which was more properly an urbs). First record of town hall is from 1481; townhouse "residence in a town" is from 1825. Townie "townsman, one raised in a town" is recorded from 1827, often opposed to the university students or circus workers who were just passing through. Town ball, version of baseball, is recorded from 1852. Town car (1907) originally was a motor car with an enclosed passenger compartment and open driver's seat. On the town "living the high life" is from 1712. Go to town "do (something) energetically" is first recorded 1933. Man about town "one constantly seen at public and private functions" is attested from 1734.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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town

In addition to the idiom beginning with town, also see all over the place (town); ghost town; go to town; man about town; one-horse town; only game in town; on the town; out of town; paint the town red; talk of the town.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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