ghost town

noun

: a once-flourishing town wholly or nearly deserted usually as a result of the exhaustion of some natural resource

Examples of ghost town in a Sentence

After all the gold was mined, the place became a ghost town.

Recent Examples on the Web

Things to Do Nevada Northern Railway History abounds on the tracks between Ely and the ghost town of Cobre, where a historic rail line was erected in the early 1900s to transport copper ore. — Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 18 Aug. 2026

The lake's receding waters are also uncovering ghost towns flooded when the Hoover Dam was built, along with prehistoric salt mines. — Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026

There’s nothing more haunting than walking on those beautiful soundstages that are ghost towns. — Antonio Ferme, Variety, 6 Aug. 2026

Other staffers have described the institution to me as a ghost town. — Janay Kingsberry, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ghost town

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

Kids Definition

ghost town

noun

: a town deserted because some natural resource has been used up