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

• hip
• now
• fashionable
• in
• stylish
• trendy
• chic

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

It was started after 9/11 to bring people downtown, to bring audiences together. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 4 June 2025

Rocking 52 Boise venues — primarily downtown — the 13th edition of Treefort featured more than 420 acts and 790 official events (plus more unofficial ones). —Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2025

Noun

Detroit's port that year had a festival that brought over a million people to the RiverWalk area in downtown Detroit, with 20 different ships from various countries, according to Director of Events and Communications for the Tall Ships Challenge Erin Short. —Emma George-Griffin, Freep.com, 7 Aug. 2025

The inaugural Indianapolis Pizza Festival will take place right in the heart of downtown on Monument Circle, and feature some friendly, delicious competition with $5,000 on the line. —Samanta Habashy, IndyStar, 7 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1845, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for downtown

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown
• knockdown

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