Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: GEOGRAPHY

Language: Old English
Origin: tun 'yard, buildings inside a wall, village, town'

town

 noun
     
town S1 W1
1

place

[countable]SG a large area with houses, shops, offices etc where people live and work, that is smaller than a city and larger than a village:
an industrial town in the Midlands
town of
the town of Norwalk, Connecticut
I walked to the nearest town.
He was buried in his home town (=the town where he was born).
2

main centre

[uncountable]SG the business or shopping centre of a town:
We're going into town tonight to see a film.
They have a small apartment in town.
3

people

[singular] all the people who live in a particular town:
The whole town turned out to watch the procession.
4

where you live

[uncountable] the town or city where you live:
Cam left town about an hour ago, so he should be out at the farm by now.
I'll be out of town for about a week.
Guess who's in town? Jodie's sister!
Do you know of a good place to eat? I'm from out of town (=from a different town).
We're moving to another part of town.
5

village

[countable] American EnglishSG several houses forming a small group around a church, shops etc [= village British English]
Rowayton is a small town of around 4000 people.
6

not country

the town

SG life in towns and cities in general:
Which do you prefer, the town or the country?
7

go to town (on something)

informal to do something in a very eager or thorough way:
Angela really went to town on buying things for her new house.
8

(out) on the town

informal going to restaurants, bars, theatres etc for entertainment in the evening:
Frank is taking me out for a night on the town.
9

town and gown

used to describe the situation in which the people living in a town and the students in a town seem to be separate and opposing groups
Definition of town from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic GEOGRAPHY
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