Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sundown town

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.96 in modern English

Syllables: sun-down -town
IPA

18

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A place or jurisdiction that prohibits or discourages a certain class of people, typically a certain race or ethnicity, from living there or remaining there after sundown, or, in some cases, from visiting during the day.

Example Sentences

"Beattie is a sundown town for tramps since the fire."
"Cousin Paul said: "Of course, this is a sundown town [no Negro residents tolerated], but if Ike sends in the paratroopers, we can always integrate with the bears.""
"However, according to old-timers, there is a time-honored tradition extending back at least two generations that "this is a sundown town.""
"A dandy example is Fairborn, up until recent years a "Sundown Town" where community forces worked in concert to keep Negroes out."
"[James W.] Loewen compiled an online map allowing people to find out more about the racial history of their towns, identifying thousands of likely and confirmed sundown towns across the U.S."

Etymology

After signs posted at town entrances warning that “colored people” (among other terms) were required to leave town by sundown.

Inflected Forms

sundown towns (plural)

Phrases

Jim Crow

Frequently Paired Words

Jim Crow redlining segregation

Synonyms

sunset town gray town sundowner town

Questions

What does sundown town mean?: A place or jurisdiction that prohibits or discourages a certain class of people, typically a certain race or ethnicity, from living there or remaining there after sundown, or, in some cases, from visiting during the day.
Where does sundown town come from?: After signs posted at town entrances warning that “colored people” (among other terms) were required to leave town by sundown.

How to pronounce sundown town

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