Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun plural The people of a town.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun People of a town or city; people who live in towns.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The people of a town; especially, the inhabitants of a city, in distinction from country people; townspeople.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The people who live in a town, especially the lower and middle classes.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the people living in a municipality smaller than a city

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • I was surprised neither to hear the story, nor to detect the note of pleasure in his voice when he implied that his townsfolk were the inheritors of these noble traditions.

    Nathaniel Loewentheil: Bolivia: One Llama's Great Incan Adventure 2009

  • He thought the concentration of the townsfolk was a sign of an unmanly dread of those first settlers whom they wished to drive away unjustly, subjugate and ruin.

    In Old Kentucky Edward Marshall 1901

  • What unsettled the minds of the townsfolk was the failure of the Rajah's boats to act at the decisive moment.

    Lord Jim Joseph Conrad 1890

  • But now, alas! we no sooner saw the town than we heard the bells and trumpets calling the townsfolk and men-at-arms to be on their ward.

    A Monk of Fife Andrew Lang 1878

  • In fact, Margaret Sinclair's sudden stinginess and indifference to her townsfolk was the common wonder and talk of every little gathering.

    Winter Evening Tales Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr 1875

  • At the appointed time and term the townsfolk gathered together to see the funeral procession and the obsequies for the departed; and the Sultan went in state to the Mausoleum together with all the Wazirs, the Emirs and Lords of the land, and took seat upon carpets of black satin purfled with flowers of gold which were dispread over the marble floor.

    Arabian nights. English Anonymous 1855

  • So every one of the townsfolk is a "shareholder" rather than a "resident".

    IOL: News 2010

  • So every one of the townsfolk is a "shareholder" rather than a "resident".

    IOL: News 2010

  • By contrast, the townsfolk are a friendly bunch who enjoy scrapbooking, eating meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and working Jesus into most conversations.

    Film Gecko 2009

  • True, these unusual demons are just, well, NPCs when you get right down to it, but they're some of the most interesting and well-realized "townsfolk" that you're ever likely to encounter.

    Destructoid 2009

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