Jonestown

J8O1N1E1S1T1O1W4N1

proper noun

A former settlement in northern Guyana founded by the Peoples Temple cult, and the site of an infamous mass murder-suicide in November 1978.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A former settlement in northern Guyana founded by the Peoples Temple cult, and the site of an infamous mass murder-suicide in November 1978.
  2. informalThe Jonestown massacre itself.
  3. Any of a number of other places in the English-speaking world.
nounJonestown (plural Jonestowns)

plural Jonestowns

  1. Any mass suicide or murder, especially one with religious or cultic overtones.

Origin

From Jones + town, after Reverend Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Latin Jonesopolis
  • Jonesopolisa former settlement in Guyana; site of the 1978 mass murder / suicide
Lithuanian Džonstaunas
  • Džonstaunasa former settlement in Guyana; site of the 1978 mass murder / suicide
Cite this entry
APA

Jonestown. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jonestown

MLA

“Jonestown.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jonestown. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Jonestown,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jonestown.

Source: Jonestown on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.