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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Pripyat — previous population 50,000 — was left a ghost town. Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025 Venture out on off-road adventures to nearby ghost towns and mining camps including the Burro Schmidt Tunnel, a .5-mile tunnel hand-dug through solid granite. Jenna Blough, Outside Online, 8 Apr. 2025 Without its central industry, it’s become a ghost town, and one where the era of Harmony and her old friend (played by character actor James LeGros) working as child laborers(*) for Lumon comparatively feel like the good old days. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2025 Their equipment had been fully operational, but now the site resembled a ghost town, with all the machinery and materials abandoned. Mireya Villarreal, ABC News, 31 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ghost town

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ghost town was in 1894

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Cite this Entry

“Ghost town.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghost%20town. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

ghost town

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

More from Merriam-Webster on ghost town

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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