ghost town en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈɡoʊst taʊn/ (General-American)
- /ˈɡəʊst taʊn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
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A town which has become deserted, usually due to failing economic activity, especially one that still has substantial visible remains.
The reduction of power in a system will necessarily lead to a reduction in levels of articulation, just as depopulation will reduce the number of domains. This reduction can be seen in former provincial-rural centers in the American Midwest and West and in the Argentina pampa. In their most exaggerated form they have been totally deserted, have become "ghost towns."
1975, Richard Newbold Adams, “Power Domains and Levels”, in Energy and Structure: A Theory of Social Power, Austin, Tex.; London: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, part 1 (The Nature of Power), page 93:Crop failures in 1925 and 1926 ended the life of the trading center. The stores closed, and the merchants moved away. In one store the goods still rest on shelves, dust-covered reminders of a better day. The folks nearby now call it the Ghost Town.
1938, E. M. Rowalt, “Cotton, Corn, Trees, and Grass”, in Soil Defense in the South (United States Department of Agriculture Farmers’ Bulletin; no. 1809), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 5:Campgrounds are located approximately two miles south of the "ghost town" of Jarbidge, Nevada.
1993, “Campground Host”, in Volunteer Opportunities 1993, Ogden, Utah: United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Region, →OCLC, page 13:Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Jueger, pioneers of Grays Harbor City, and sole inhabitants of the "ghost town".
1916 April, W. L. Morris, “The Town that Died A-Bornin’: Grays Harbor City, a ‘Ghost Town’ in the Forest”, in Sunset: The Pacific Monthly, volume XXXVI, number 4, image caption, page 41, column 1:
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(figuratively) Anything that has been deserted or abandoned, or has been empty all along.
One of the areas in Hong Kong most profoundly impacted by the city’s third wave of coronavirus is Tsz Wan Shan. The usually bustling streets of the working-class neighbourhood in Kowloon now resemble a ghost town. Tsz Wan Shan has been the epicentre of a recent cluster of Covid-19 cases.
2020 August 18, “Empty spaces in Tsz Wan Shan amid Hong Kong’s third wave of coronavirus”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 Sep 2021:It was the Friday evening before Christmas and ASU was a ghost town. Most everyone had left for the holiday several days earlier, including all of Professor Brinkerman's students.
2014, D. C. Johnston, chapter 31, in Celtic Treasure: A Mick Scott Adventure, [s.n.]: Johnston Enterprises, →ISBN, page 195:At this hour, the canyoned street was a ghost town, and Billy easily spotted the late-model Nissan Pathfinder slowly approaching from three blocks south.
2015, Richard Price writing as Harry Brandt, The Whites: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN, page 332:In this metropolis that had a prewar population of almost a million, but where the city center now feels like an Orwellian ghost town of propaganda posters and armed patrols, perhaps no one feels more alone than those who still harbor pro-Ukrainian sentiments.
2014 September 25, Anthony Faiola, “An Orwellian nightmare for pro-Ukrainians in rebel-held east”, in The Washington Post, Nash Holdings, LLC, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2016, retrieved 25 Sep 2014:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ghost towns | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
Translations (87)
hu szellemváros (town which has become deserted) · tl bayang naulog (town which has become deserted) · lt miestas vaiduoklis (town which has become deserted) · da spøgelsesby (town which has become deserted) · it città fantasma (town which has become deserted) · hy քաղաք-ուրվական (town which has become deserted) · el πόλη φάντασμα (town which has become deserted) · nb spøkelsesby (town which has become deserted) · de Geisterdorf (town which has become deserted) · mk за́пустен град (town which has become deserted) · cs opuštěné město (town which has become deserted) · vi phố ma (town which has become deserted) · es despoblado (town which has become deserted) · sh grȃd duhova (town which has become deserted) · sk mesto duchov (town which has become deserted) · cy tref anghyfannedd (town which has become deserted) · mk град на ду́хови (town which has become deserted) · pl miasto widmo (anything that has been deserted or abandoned) · pl miasto widmo (town which has become deserted) · bg град-при́зрак (town which has become deserted) · ru поки́нутый го́род (town which has become deserted) · be пакі́нуты го́рад (town which has become deserted) · cmn 鬼城 (town which has become deserted) · be изоставен град (town which has become deserted) · th เมืองผี (town which has become deserted) · vi xóm ma quỷ (town which has become deserted) · uk мі́сто-при́вид (town which has become deserted) · ka ნაქალაქარი (town which has become deserted) · ru исче́знувший го́род (town which has become deserted) · sco ghaist toun (town which has become deserted) · kmr bajarê terkkirî (town which has become deserted) · ar مَدِينَة أَشْبَاح (town which has become deserted) · fr ville fantôme (town which has become deserted) · nl spookstad (town which has become deserted) · tr hayalet kasaba (town which has become deserted) · es pueblo fantasma (town which has become deserted) · sh гра̑д духова (town which has become deserted) · cmn 鬼鎮 /鬼镇 (town which has become deserted) · mk ду́ховград (town which has become deserted) · az kabus şəhər (town which has become deserted) · hu kísértetváros (town which has become deserted) · nn spøkelsesby (town which has become deserted) · de Geisterort (town which has become deserted) · ca despoblat (town which has become deserted) · hi भूत नगर (town which has become deserted) · he עִיר רְפָאִים (town which has become deserted) · vi thành phố bỏ hoang (town which has become deserted) · fa شهر متروکه (town which has become deserted) · cs zaniklé sídlo (town which has become deserted) · ja 死都 (town which has become deserted) · de Ghosttown (town which has become deserted) · ru го́род-при́зрак (town which has become deserted) · ar مَدِينَة الْأَشْبَاح (town which has become deserted) · nn spøkjelsesby (town which has become deserted) · es ciudad fantasma (town which has become deserted) · de Geisterstadt (town which has become deserted) · id kota hantu (town which has become deserted) · vi phố hoang (town which has become deserted) · pt cidade-fantasma (town which has become deserted) · ca poble fantasma (town which has become deserted) · fi haamukaupunki (town which has become deserted) · ko 유령 도시 (town which has become deserted) · ja 廃村 (town which has become deserted) · kmr terkkirî (anything that has been deserted or abandoned) · ta வெறிச்சோடிய நகரம் (town which has become deserted) · eo dezerta urbo (town which has become deserted) · lb Geeschterstad (town which has become deserted) · ja ゴーストタウン (town which has become deserted) · he יִשּׁוּב רְפָאִים (town which has become deserted) · ug ئالۋاستى شەھەر (town which has become deserted) · gl cidade pantasma (town which has become deserted) · hy լքված բնակավայր (town which has become deserted) · ru забро́шенный го́род (town which has become deserted) · ta ஆளரவமற்ற நகரம் (town which has become deserted) · lmo cittaa fantasma (town which has become deserted) · et kummituslinn (town which has become deserted) · sv spökstad (town which has become deserted) · ro oraș-fantomă (town which has become deserted) · fi autiokaupunki (town which has become deserted) · ga baile tréigthe (town which has become deserted) · is draugabær (town which has become deserted) · de Geistersiedlung (town which has become deserted) · eo fantomurbo (town which has become deserted) · fi aavekaupunki (town which has become deserted) · war bungto nga binayaan (town which has become deserted) · yue 鬼域 (town which has become deserted) · eu herri hustu (town which has become deserted)