Downtown vs. Town — What's the Difference?

Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart, and is often synonymous with its central business district (CBD). It is marked by a cluster of tall buildings, cultural institutions and the convergence of rail transit and bus lines.

A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.

In or relating to the central part or main business and commercial area of a town or city

A population center that is larger than a village and smaller than a city.

In or into a downtown area

A territorial and political unit governed by a town meeting, especially in New England.

The downtown area of a town or city

(Informal) A city

The lower part or the business center of a city or town.

Chiefly British A rural village that has a market or fair periodically.

To, toward, or in the lower part or the business center of a city or town.

The residents of a town

Of, relating to, or located downtown.

An area that is more densely populated or developed than the surrounding area

Of, relating to, or situated in the central business district

The residents of a community in which a university or college is located, as opposed to the students and faculty

In or towards the central business district.

A group of prairie dog burrows.

(basketball) Outside the three-point line, or generally far from the basket.

A settlement; an area with residential districts, shops and amenities, and its own local government; especially one larger than a village and smaller than a city, historically enclosed by a fence or walls, with total populations ranging from several hundred to more than a hundred thousand (as of the early 21st century)

The main business part of a city or town, usually located at or near its center.

Any more urbanized centre than the place of reference.

The human genitalia.

A rural settlement in which a market was held at least once a week.

(slang) heroin.

The residents (as opposed to gown: the students, faculty, etc.) of a community which is the site of a university.

The commercial center of a town or city

(colloquial) Used to refer to a town or similar entity under discussion.

Of or located in the lower part of a town, or in the business center;

A major city, especially one where the speaker is located.

Toward or in the lower or central part of town

(legal) A municipal organization, such as a corporation, defined by the laws of the entity of which it is a part.

(obsolete) An enclosure which surrounded the mere homestead or dwelling of the lord of the manor; by extension, the whole of the land which constituted the domain.

A farm or farmstead; also, a court or farmyard.

London, especially central London.

Formerly: (a) An inclosure which surrounded the mere homestead or dwelling of the lord of the manor. [Obs.] (b) The whole of the land which constituted the domain. [Obs.] (c) A collection of houses inclosed by fences or walls.

Any number or collection of houses to which belongs a regular market, and which is not a city or the see of a bishop.

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.

The body of inhabitants resident in a town; as, the town voted to send two representatives to the legislature; the town voted to lay a tax for repairing the highways.

A township; the whole territory within certain limits, less than those of a country.

The court end of London; - commonly with the.

The metropolis or its inhabitants; as, in winter the gentleman lives in town; in summer, in the country.

A farm or farmstead; also, a court or farmyard.

An urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city;

An administrative division of a county;

The people living in a municipality smaller than a city;