downtown

downtown — adjective

1. found in or describing a city's main business and entertainment district

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

found in or describing a city's main business and entertainment district

Example

Quan found a small apartment in the downtown area, close to his office.

attributive: downtown + noun (downtown area)

The downtown library is open until eight o'clock every weekday evening.

Common collocations
  • downtown area
  • downtown hotel
  • downtown restaurant
  • downtown office
  • downtown street
  • downtown store
  • downtown apartment
Synonyms
  • central

    broader — central can describe any middle part of a city, not just the business district

  • urban

    covers the whole city, not specifically the commercial core

Antonyms
  • suburban

    describes residential areas outside the city centre

Grammar Patterns

downtown + noun

Usage Note

Only used before a noun (attributive position). Do not write 'This area is downtown' to mean it is a central business area — use the adverb form instead.

Common Mistakes

I live in downtown.
I live in a downtown neighbourhood.
As an adjective, 'downtown' must modify a noun. Use the adverb ('I live downtown') to state location as a place.

downtown — noun

downtown — adverb

Word family

  • uptown
    adverbB1
  • uptown
    adjectiveB1
  • town
    nounA1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

The adverb 'downtown' (North American English) is the everyday word for going to or being in a city's main commercial area. In British English, 'city centre' fills the same role: 'Let's go to the city centre.' The word 'town' can also refer to the main business area, especially in smaller cities: 'I'm heading into town.' In formal planning or business contexts, 'central business district' (or 'CBD') is preferred: 'The CBD accounts for 40% of the city's tax revenue.' Unlike 'downtown', both 'city centre' and 'central business district' require a preposition ('to the city centre', 'in the CBD'). Example: 'We took the subway downtown and had dinner at a Korean restaurant.' vs. 'We took the tube to the city centre and ate at a Korean place.'

downtown ↗city centretown ↗central business district

Common collocations

Nouns

  • downtown area
  • downtown office
  • downtown shop
  • downtown street
  • downtown hotel

Adverbs

  • straight downtown
  • right downtown
  • further downtown

Phrases

  • go downtown
  • live downtown
  • work downtown
  • move downtown
  • head downtown

Prepositions

  • in downtown
  • to downtown
  • from downtown

Etymology

American EnglishEnglish

The word 'downtown' comes from 19th-century American English. In older American cities, the business district was often located at a lower elevation near the waterfront, so people would say they were heading 'down' to 'town'. The word first appeared in the 1830s and gradually lost its literal elevation meaning, becoming the standard term for a city's main commercial area.