tent city

noun

: a collection of many tents set up in an area to provide usually temporary shelter (as for displaced or homeless people)

Tent cities of displaced homeowners have sprung up in the state's Central Valley—even in the capital, Sacramento.

—Matt Woolsey

Anti-sweatshop protesters at FSU pitched a tent city last March to demand that the school join the Workers Rights Consortium …

—Meline Toumani et al.

Examples of tent city in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

More than 1 million people have squeezed in and around the southern city of Rafah, joining swelling tent cities near the Egyptian border. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 15 Feb. 2024

The creation of the sprawling tent cities would be paid for by the the U.S. and its Arab Gulf partners, the proposal reportedly said. —John Bacon, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2024

Mayor Eric Adams, an outspoken Democratic critic of Biden's handling of the border crisis, said his administration has worked to find safe shelter for the migrants and prevent tent cities from being erected like elsewhere in the country. —Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2024

Rafah's makeshift tent city Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies The top commander in charge of Israel’s military operation in southern Gaza told CNN on Sunday that there was no plan in place yet for how to minimize civilian deaths in the city. —Amir Tal and Mick Krever, CNN, 9 Feb. 2024

Participants will run day and night while camping in a temporary tent city and taking part in activities in the Ragnar Village, all located within Centennial Park. —Nwa Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 6 Feb. 2024

Rafah is the last refuge for Palestinians fleeing Israel’s bombardment and more than 1.5 million people are crammed into a sprawling tent city packed against the Egyptian border, with families living with severe shortages of food, water, medicine and shelter. —Jeremy Diamond, CNN, 22 Feb. 2024

Hundreds of migrants were evicted from a tent city in Denver. —Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2024

Some have found homes far away; others are living in tent cities and containers nearby. —Melanie Stetson Freeman, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

tent city

noun

: a group of many tents set up to provide usually temporary shelter (as for displaced or homeless people)