Chinatown

noun

Chi·​na·​town ˈchī-nə-ˌtau̇n How to pronounce Chinatown (audio)
: the Chinese quarter of a city

Examples of Chinatown in a Sentence

We had dinner in Chinatown.
Recent Examples on the Web Review: ‘Chinatown Punk Wars’ chronicles the heyday of L.A. punk and the clubs at the center of the scene Punk Rock Bowling has done the impossible: It’s made Las Vegas into a legitimate punk rock destination. Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2024 Ting's Gift Shop in New York City's bustling Chinatown has shuttered after 66 years in business. Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 23 May 2024 Monterey Park, just east of Los Angeles on Interstate 10, has been a migrant magnet for decades and is known as America’s first suburban Chinatown. Melanie Stetson Freeman, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 May 2024 Preservationists recently labeled the neighborhood, which faces similar gentrification as in Chinatown, an endangered historic place. Aida Ylanan, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024 Or Stop Making Sense, Avatar, Apollo 13, Chinatown, Easy Rider, Paper Moon, Lone Star, or roughly 90 percent of any movies featuring monsters terrorizing pretty ladies from the last 50 years? David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 May 2024 In February, residents of San Francisco also set one of the vehicles on fire in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Emily Price, PCMAG, 11 May 2024 Later, Berlin worked as a singing waiter in New York City in Chinatown’s Pelham Cafe. Erica Lamberg, Fox News, 11 May 2024 Working out of Sigma Sound Studios in the city’s Chinatown section, Gamble and Huff assembled a bullet-proof cast of arrangers and session players collectively known as M.F.S.B. (Mother, Father, Sister, Brother). John Morrison, SPIN, 9 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Chinatown.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Chinatown was in 1857

Dictionary Entries Near Chinatown

Cite this Entry

“Chinatown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Chinatown. Accessed 7 Jun. 2024.

Kids Definition

Chinatown

noun
Chi·​na·​town ˈchī-nə-ˌtau̇n How to pronounce Chinatown (audio)
: an area of a city where many people of Chinese ancestry live
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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