townspeople
plural noun
towns·peo·ple
ˈtau̇nz-ˌpē-pəl 
1
: the inhabitants of a town or city : townsmen
2
: town-dwelling or town-bred persons
Examples of townspeople in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The spare stage doesn’t just grant us a clear view of our fellow townspeople — those who are, like us, watching Thomas flail.
—
Daniel D'addario, Variety, 19 Mar. 2024
The book centered on an author who returns to his hometown only to discover townspeople are slowly being turned into vampires.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024
During the festival, followers would dress up in disguises and trick townspeople.
—Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024
Players are in charge of running a farm left to them by their dead grandfather and all the fun that comes along with it — growing crops, raising livestock, mining, foraging and socializing with the townspeople.
—The Arizona Republic, 19 Mar. 2024
There’s the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, to which townspeople are summoned with the bell that used to call mill hands to work.
—Jillian Atelsek, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024
In one game, carts of live pigs were thrown from the top of the hill, leaving the townspeople below clamoring to catch the meat.
—Elizabeth Djinis, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024
The Ally comes on the heels of Moses’s The Band’s Visit, a 10-time Tony-winning musical starring Tony Shalhoub and Katrina Lenk about an Egyptian military band that accidentally winds up at a desert town and forges unexpected connections with the townspeople.
—Rhoda Feng, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2024
When the townspeople get ahold of the roving prisoners, their grief and anger turn into a violent, unrelenting massacre, with military escorts using the chaos to execute American prisoners at will.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 23 Feb. 2024
Daniel D'addario, Variety, 19 Mar. 2024
The book centered on an author who returns to his hometown only to discover townspeople are slowly being turned into vampires.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024
During the festival, followers would dress up in disguises and trick townspeople.
—Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024
Players are in charge of running a farm left to them by their dead grandfather and all the fun that comes along with it — growing crops, raising livestock, mining, foraging and socializing with the townspeople.
—The Arizona Republic, 19 Mar. 2024
There’s the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, to which townspeople are summoned with the bell that used to call mill hands to work.
—Jillian Atelsek, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024
In one game, carts of live pigs were thrown from the top of the hill, leaving the townspeople below clamoring to catch the meat.
—Elizabeth Djinis, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024
The Ally comes on the heels of Moses’s The Band’s Visit, a 10-time Tony-winning musical starring Tony Shalhoub and Katrina Lenk about an Egyptian military band that accidentally winds up at a desert town and forges unexpected connections with the townspeople.
—Rhoda Feng, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2024
When the townspeople get ahold of the roving prisoners, their grief and anger turn into a violent, unrelenting massacre, with military escorts using the chaos to execute American prisoners at will.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 23 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'townspeople.' 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
1587, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near townspeople
Cite this Entry
“Townspeople.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/townspeople. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
townspeople
noun plural
towns·peo·ple
ˈtau̇nz-ˌpē-pəl
: the people who live in a town or city
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