Definitions

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

  • noun A permanent resident of a town, especially a resident of a college town who is academically unaffiliated with the local college or university.

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

  • noun UK, US A person living in a university area who is not associated with the university.
  • noun US A person born and raised in an area of Massachusetts who is proud of his or her Irish-American community, culture, and heritage.
  • noun UK A person who has moved from a town or city to a rural area.
  • noun UK A person familiar with the town (urbanised centre of a city) and with going out on the town; a street-wise person.
  • noun UK, pejorative A chav.
  • noun US A working-class citizen in a metropolitan area.
  • noun Australia, New Zealand, informal A person who lives in a city or town, or has an urban outlook.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From town +‎ -ie.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word townie.

Examples

  • Your humble e-scribbler, unrepentant townie that he is - the title townie bastard is already claimed - missed it completely as well.

    The other campaign Ed Hollett 2007

  • I was what those who got the full university experience called a townie.

    The Big Scam Paul Lindsay 2005

  • This will take a bit of work on your part because you don't need the crazy parents with two horny kids calling the townie police.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Michael Cohen 2011

  • This presentation exhibits a carefully blended balance between historical provenance, cultural exploration, and "townie" pride.

    Archive 2008-04-01 2008

  • This presentation exhibits a carefully blended balance between historical provenance, cultural exploration, and "townie" pride.

    Creating, Managing & Pres. Dig. Assets: The Making Of Ann Arbor 2008

  • The practice of equipping a "townie" with suspension forks, I know manufacturers have been doing it for years, but it's really stupid man.

    Under the Table: Baby Got Beard BikeSnobNYC 2010

  • And of course no NAHBS would be complete without impossibly lavish "townie" bikes that cost more than your town:

    Hand Luggage: Bike Builders and Lady-Killers BikeSnobNYC 2009

  • Other colleges with similar situations are Yale and Dartmouth, although the racial component is not evident in the "townie" population around Dartmouth.

    Sound Politics: About that Duke Case 2006

  • I met my first husband he was a "townie" and stayed after I graduated.

    Twenty years ago today Teena in Toronto 2007

  • I met my first husband he was a "townie" and stayed after I graduated.

    Archive 2007-02-01 Teena in Toronto 2007

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.