The 20 words that define New York

What makes New York so captivating? What is New York, really? I asked members of our Destination New York Facebook group to post ONE WORD to define the city. Here’s what they said—a glimpse of what awaits you when you finally arrive in New York.

The Top 10 Words That Define New York

1/ Magical

“Magical” was the most popular word in this survey, with 27 mentions. Add to that the English version, Magic, and the count grows even higher.

2/ Amazing

Amazing is a word you’ll hear constantly from New Yorkers and Americans in general. They use it for everything—from the color of a dress to a random story. Everything is quickly amazing.

3/ Dream

“Dream” ranks third, combining both the French word and its English equivalent, dream, mentioned by six people.

4/ Grandiose

5/ Unforgettable

6/ Unique

7/ Breathtaking

8/ Excessive

9/ Enormous

10/ Extraordinary

My 10 Favorite Words About New York

While compiling the top 10, I came across responses that were poetic, funny, or striking. Here are my 10 personal favorites—no ranking this time.

• Dizzying
• Obsession
• XXL
• Anthill
• Sleepless
• Again
• Paradoxical
• Miles
  Sami is a practical New York fan! To explore New York, you’ll need to be ready to cover a lot of ground on foot. See our survey on how many miles you’ll walk each day in New York.
• Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
  Mary Poppins’ magic word fits New York perfectly. Well spotted, Nathalie!
• Soon
  

Honorable Mentions

Some members of our Destination New York Facebook group clearly struggled to sum up the entire city in just one word. Here are a few creative responses—either longer than one word or interjections with flexible spelling:

• I’m coming (Olivier P.)
• Wow, mentioned by 9 people. Interestingly, almost all 9 spelled it differently: Wow, Whoa, Wao, WHAOUHHHHH, Wooooow, Waouhhh, and Wouaw. Pick your favorite!
• See you soon (Gérard D.)

The Final Word

To wrap up this survey, I’ll give the last word to Emma and PJ, who both chose the same word to describe New York: Indescribable.