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

Wiring an Empty Island Adak was already a ghost town when Mayes’ company started wiring the island. — Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica, 20 July 2026

Sadly, over two centuries after the birth of the NYSE, Wall Street could become a ghost town. — Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 17 July 2026

Like most ghost towns, this wasn’t how things were supposed to go. — Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 16 July 2026

Concan was pretty much a ghost town, too, except for the summer months, when tourists flooded the area. — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 16 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