shantytown

noun

shan·​ty·​town ˈshan-tē-ˌtau̇n How to pronounce shantytown (audio)
: a usually poor town or section of a town consisting mostly of shanties

Examples of shantytown in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Earlier this week, Fontaine Medical Center, a hospital in the Cité Soleil shantytown in the capital, was caught once more in the middle of an exchange of gunfire between clashing gangs, prompting the facility to evacuate patients and staff. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 15 Feb. 2024 The 24-year-old was returning with seven others from a downtown market last March to their homes in Cité Soleil, the capital’s largest shantytown, when they were attacked by armed gang members. Amanda Coletta, Washington Post, 29 Jan. 2024 Unable to squeeze into the four acres, hundreds of Guarani have spilled into adjacent shantytowns. Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 2 Jan. 2024 With journalistic indignation, Pialat shows the plight of immigrant laborers living tightly packed in shantytown firetraps close to posh Paris neighborhoods. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2023 Neighbors described the building as a nightmarish shantytown frequented by drug dealers, where a woman was thrown last year from the fourth floor. Lynsey Chutel, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2023 Books were burned publicly, shantytowns raided, students and professors expelled from schools and universities. Ariel Dorfman, The New York Review of Books, 31 Aug. 2023 Driven by the increase in the cost of living and unemployment, Brazil saw a 40 percent increase in the population living in shantytowns, to 16 million in the past 12 years, according to the 2022 census. Angelica Mari, WIRED, 18 Aug. 2023 Different peasant organizations thus arose in different parts of Peru; for example, peasants formed self-defense groups in the northern highlands, but in urban shantytowns peasants started soup kitchens. Cynthia McClintock, Foreign Affairs, 5 Feb. 2013

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shantytown.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shantytown was in 1876

Dictionary Entries Near shantytown

Cite this Entry

“Shantytown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shantytown. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

shantytown

noun
shan·​ty·​town -ˌtau̇n How to pronounce shantytown (audio)
: a usually poor town or section of a town made up mostly of shanties
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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