as in cities
a thickly settled, highly populated area
after driving for miles with nothing but corn and wheat fields to look at, we were relieved to roll into a small town and have a bite to eat at the local diner
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Recent Examples of towns
Native nations across the continent, and especially those that shared a frontier with the early United States, are prominently marked, while Cherokee, Shawnee, Delaware, and Haudenosaunee towns have as visible a place as many settler towns in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Quebec.
—
Sarah Botstein, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025
The income cities generate also supports rural areas and small towns.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
The images show entire towns and neighborhoods have been ravaged in Gaza, alongside key infrastructure like schools, hospitals and religious buildings.
—Victoria Beaule, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2025
The Coronado Trail Scenic Byway stretches over 120 miles, covering these climates and towns from Eagar to Morenci, Arizona.
—Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 7 Oct. 2025
The risk covers both western Maine, including towns such as Farmington, Lewiston-Auburn, Portland, Rockland, and Bridgton, as well as northern and eastern Maine, encompassing communities like Allagash, Fort Kent, Presque Isle, Bangor, and Bar Harbor.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
Many of those that still produce a large share of their products in cities and towns such as Geneva, Vevey, and Zurich—like Nestlé’s Nespresso coffee arm, DSM-Firmenich, and heavy industrial equipment makers like ABB and Hitachi Energy—are unusual in being able to do so competitively.
—Peter Vanham, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
Come October, New Yorkers looking to escape the city for a long weekend trade the coastal enclaves of the Hamptons for the golden hiking trails and quaint little towns of Upstate New York—and nowhere is this mass exodus more visible than in the Catskills.
—Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 1 Oct. 2025
Small ship cruise company American Cruise Lines will launch the first all-domestic Great Lakes sailings next year, celebrating America's small towns and lake cities in time for next summer.
—Katie Nadworny, Travel + Leisure, 30 Sep. 2025
Sarah Botstein, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025
The income cities generate also supports rural areas and small towns.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
The images show entire towns and neighborhoods have been ravaged in Gaza, alongside key infrastructure like schools, hospitals and religious buildings.
—Victoria Beaule, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2025
The Coronado Trail Scenic Byway stretches over 120 miles, covering these climates and towns from Eagar to Morenci, Arizona.
—Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 7 Oct. 2025
The risk covers both western Maine, including towns such as Farmington, Lewiston-Auburn, Portland, Rockland, and Bridgton, as well as northern and eastern Maine, encompassing communities like Allagash, Fort Kent, Presque Isle, Bangor, and Bar Harbor.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
Many of those that still produce a large share of their products in cities and towns such as Geneva, Vevey, and Zurich—like Nestlé’s Nespresso coffee arm, DSM-Firmenich, and heavy industrial equipment makers like ABB and Hitachi Energy—are unusual in being able to do so competitively.
—Peter Vanham, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
Come October, New Yorkers looking to escape the city for a long weekend trade the coastal enclaves of the Hamptons for the golden hiking trails and quaint little towns of Upstate New York—and nowhere is this mass exodus more visible than in the Catskills.
—Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 1 Oct. 2025
Small ship cruise company American Cruise Lines will launch the first all-domestic Great Lakes sailings next year, celebrating America's small towns and lake cities in time for next summer.
—Katie Nadworny, Travel + Leisure, 30 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for towns
Noun
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Timed to the album’s multi-layered kick-off, physical orange doors began appearing in cities around the world — Nashville, London, Las Vegas, among them — each sporting QR codes that connected fans to brief travelogue-style videos evoking those locales.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
8 Oct. 2025
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Passengers expecting speedy layovers and smooth transitions in some major cities have been jolted by unexpected delays or cancellations.—
Ashleigh Fields,
The Hill,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Jia founded the Pingyao International Film Festival in his home province of Shanxi, choosing the ancient city over modern metropolises like Beijing or Shanghai.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
28 Sep. 2025
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But Gorman also cautioned that even if the bold ideas put forth by Musk and Bezos are realized fully, with bustling metropolises constructed among the stars, humanity will eventually need to look back toward home.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Towns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/towns. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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