Standard Lemma guide

shantytown

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: SH AE1 N T IY0 T AW2 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An area containing a collection of shacks, shanties or makeshift dwellings.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a city district inhabited by people living in huts and shanties

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: slum, slum area

History

Etymology

From shanty + town.

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: barri de barraques — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Chinese Mandarin: 棚戶區 /棚户区 (pénghùqū) — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Dutch: sloppenwijk — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Esperanto: kvartalaĉo — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Estonian: pilpaküla — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Finnish: hökkelikylä — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Finnish: hökkelikaupunki — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • French: bidonville — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • German: Informelle Siedlung — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • German: Marginalsiedlung — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • German: Barackenstadt — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • German: Elendsviertel — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • German: Slum — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Greek: παραγκούπολη (paragkoúpoli) — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Icelandic: kofaþorp — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Italian: baraccopoli — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Māori: kuha papa kāinga — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Portuguese: favela — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Portuguese: bairro de lata — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Portuguese: musseque — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Spanish: villa miseria — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Swedish: kåkstad — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Turkish: kenar mahalle — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Turkish: gecekondu mahallesi — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Turkish: gecekondu bölgesi — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties
  • Turkish: varoş — area containing a collection of shacks and shanties