1. town(n = noun.location) - an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city; "they drive through town on their way to work"
Derived form noun township1
2. town(n = noun.group) townsfolk, townspeople - the people living in a municipality smaller than a city; "the whole town cheered the team"
3. town(n = noun.location) township - an administrative division of a county; "the town is responsible for snow removal"
Derived form noun township1
4. town(n = noun.person) ithiel town - United States architect who was noted for his design and construction of truss bridges (1784-1844);
1. Formerly:
2. Any number or collection of houses to which belongs a regular market, and which is not a city or the see of a bishop. Johnson. [1913 Webster]
3. Any collection of houses larger than a village, and not incorporated as a city; also, loosely, any large, closely populated place, whether incorporated or not, in distinction from the country, or from rural communities. [1913 Webster]
4. The body of inhabitants resident in a town;
5. A township; the whole territory within certain limits, less than those of a country. [1913 Webster]
6. The court end of London; -- commonly with
7. The metropolis or its inhabitants;
8. A farm or farmstead; also, a court or farmyard. [1913 Webster]
town, n.
1 a a large urban area with a name, defined boundaries, and local government, being larger than a village and usu. not created a city. b any densely populated area, esp. as opposed to the country or suburbs. c the people of a town (the whole town knows of it).
2 a Brit. London or the chief city or town in one's neighbourhood (went up to town). b the central business or shopping area in a neighbourhood (just going into town).
3 the permanent residents of a university town as distinct from the members of the university (cf. GOWN).
4 US = TOWNSHIP 2.
Idiom:
go to town colloq. act or work with energy or enthusiasm. on the town colloq. enjoying the entertainments, esp. the night-life, of a town; celebrating. town clerk
1 US & hist. the officer of the corporation of a town in charge of records etc.
2 Brit. hist. the secretary and legal adviser of a town corporation until 1974. town council the elective governing body in a municipality. town councillor an elected member of this. town crier see CRIER. town gas manufactured gas for domestic and commercial use. town hall a building for the administration of local government, having public meeting rooms etc.
town house
1 a town residence, esp. of a person with a house in the country.
2 a terrace house, esp. of a stylish modern type.
3 a house in a planned group in a town.
4 Brit. a town hall. town-major hist. the chief executive officer in a garrison town or fortress. town mayor Brit. the chairman of a town council. town meeting US a meeting of the voters of a town for the transaction of public business. town planning the planning of the construction and growth of towns.
Derivative:
townish adj. townless adj. townlet n. townward adj. & adv. townwards adv.
Etymology:
OE tun enclosure f. Gmc
N abode, dwelling, lodging, domicile, residence, apartment, place, digs, pad, address, habitation, where one's lot is cast, local habitation, berth, diggings, seat, lap, sojourn, housing, quarters, headquarters, resiance, tabernacle, throne, ark, home, fatherland, country, homestead, homestall, fireside, hearth, hearth stone, chimney corner, inglenook, ingle side, harem, seraglio, zenana, household gods, lares et penates, roof, household, housing, dulce domum, paternal domicile, native soil, native land, habitat, range, stamping ground, haunt, hangout, biosphere, environment, ecological niche, nest, nidus, snuggery, arbor, bower, lair, den, cave, hole, hiding place, cell, sanctum sanctorum, aerie, eyrie, eyry, rookery, hive, covert, resort, retreat, perch, roost, nidification, kala jagah, bivouac, camp, encampment, cantonment, castrametation, barrack, casemate, casern, tent, building, chamber, xenodochium, tenement, messuage, farm, farmhouse, grange, hacienda, toft, cot, cabin, hut, chalet, croft, shed, booth, stall, hovel, bothy, shanty, dugout, wigwam, pen, barn, bawn, kennel, sty, doghold, cote, coop, hutch, byre, cow house, cow shed, stable, dovecote, columbary, columbarium, shippen, igloo, iglu, jacal, lacustrine dwelling, lacuslake dwelling, lacuspile dwelling, log cabin, log house, shack, shebang, tepee, topek, house, mansion, place, villa, cottage, box, lodge, hermitage, rus in urbe, folly, rotunda, tower, chateau, castle, pavilion, hotel, court, manor-house, capital messuage, hall, palace, kiosk, bungalow, casa, country seat, apartment house, flat house, frame house, shingle house, tenement house, temple, hamlet, village, thorp, dorp, ham, kraal, borough, burgh, town, city, capital, metropolis, suburb, province, country, county town, county seat, courthouse, ghetto, street, place, terrace, parade, esplanade, alameda, board walk, embankment, road, row, lane, alley, court, quadrangle, quad, wynd, close, yard, passage, rents, buildings, mews, square, polygon, circus, crescent, mall, piazza, arcade, colonnade, peristyle, cloister, gardens, grove, residences, block of buildings, market place, place, plaza, anchorage, roadstead, roads, dock, basin, wharf, quay, port, harbor, quarter, parish, assembly room, meetinghouse, pump room, spa, watering place, inn, hostel, hostelry, hotel, tavern, caravansary, dak bungalow, khan, hospice, public house, pub, pot house, mug house, gin mill, gin palace, bar, bar room, barrel house, cabaret, chophouse, club, clubhouse, cookshop, dive, exchange, grill room, saloon, shebeen, coffee house, eating house, canteen, restaurant, buffet, cafe, estaminet, posada, almshouse, poorhouse, townhouse, garden, park, pleasure ground, plaisance, demesne, cage, terrarium, doghouse, pen, aviary, barn, stall, zoo, urban, metropolitan, suburban, provincial, rural, rustic, domestic, cosmopolitan, palatial, eigner Hert ist goldes Werth, even cities have their graves, ubi libertas ibi patria, home sweet home.
N fashion, style, ton, bon ton, society, good society, polite society, monde, drawing-room, civilized life, civilization, town, beau monde, high life, court, world, fashionable world, gay world, Vanity Fair, show, manners, breeding, air, demeanor, savoir faire, gentlemanliness, gentility, decorum, propriety, biens_eance, conventions of society, Mrs, Grundy, punctilio, form, formality, etiquette, point of etiquette, dress, custom, mode, vogue, go, rage, prevailing taste, fad, trend, bandwagon, furore, thing, in thing, craze, chic, last word, man of fashion, woman of fashion, man of the world, woman of the world, height of fashion, pink of fashion, star of fashion, glass of fashion, leader of fashion, arbiter elegantiarum, the beautiful people, the fashion set, upper ten thousand, elite, smart set, the four hundred, in crowd, fashionable, in fashion, a la mode, comme il faut, admitted in society, admissible in society, presentable, conventional, genteel, well-bred, well mannered, well behaved, well spoken, gentlemanlike, gentlemanly, ladylike, civil, polite, polished, refined, thoroughbred, courtly, distingue, unembarrassed, degage, janty, jaunty, dashing, fast, modish, stylish, chic, trendy, recherche, newfangled, all the rage, all the go, with it, in, faddish, in court, in full dress, in evening dress, en grande tenue, fashionably, for fashion's sake, a la francaise, a la parisienne, a l' anglaise, a l' americaine, autre temps autre mauers, chaque pays a sa guise.