noun · neutral
downtown
/daʊnˈtaʊn/down·TOWN
Band 4-5speakingtask2
the commercial centre of a city; the area with shops, offices and entertainment
Examples
“There are several good cafés downtown.”
“I work downtown and commute by metro.”
“The downtown area is busiest during the weekdays.”
Band 8 sentence
“I usually go downtown at weekends to meet friends and try different restaurants.”
Collocations
- go downtown
- downtown shops/offices
Word family
downtown adjectivedowntown adverb
Common mistakes
I go to the downtown.→I go downtown.
citycentre→city centre
Say it for a higher band
5city centre→6central area→7+downtown
Synonyms
city centre
central business district
Easily confused
city centre
“We walked across the city centre to reach the museum.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In City & Urban life
Learn it with its set