townsman

noun

towns·​man ˈtau̇nz-mən How to pronounce townsman (audio)
Synonyms of townsmannext
1
a
: a native or resident of a town or city
b
: an urban or urbane person
2
: a fellow citizen of a town

Synonyms

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of townsman in a Sentence

thousands of townsmen turned out to vote on the school budget
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The townsmen feared his razor-sharp teeth, lightning speed, and quick temper. — Maeve Dunigan, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024 Whereas most of the townsmen had a stronger right upper arm bone than the left—suggesting difficult physical labor—some men buried on the hospital grounds had symmetrical arm bones, and their skeletal remains suggested a relatively long and healthy life. — Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Dec. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of townsman was before the 12th century

Rhymes for townsman

See All Rhymes for townsman

Browse Nearby Words

townsman
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Townsman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/townsman. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All