neighbor

American  

[ney-ber] / ˈneɪ bər /

especially British, neighbour

noun

1. a person who lives near another.

   My next door neighbor has an orange cat.

2. a person or thing that is near another.

3. one's fellow human being.

   You must be generous toward your less fortunate neighbors.

4. a person who shows kindliness or helpfulness toward others.

   She's always a neighbor to people in distress.

5. (used as a term of address, especially as a friendly greeting to a stranger).

   Tell me, neighbor, which way to town?

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adjective

1. situated or living near another.

   One of our neighbor nations is in need of aid.

verb (used with object)

1. to live or be situated near to; adjoin; border on.

   Germany neighbors Denmark.

2. to place or bring near.

verb (used without object)

1. to live or be situated nearby.

2. to associate with or as if with one's neighbors; be neighborly or friendly (often followed bywith ).

Usage

Spelling tips for neighbor The word neighbor is hard to spell because it is spelled differently from the way it is pronounced [ ney-ber ]. To make it even more confusing, neighbor is the American English spelling of the word. In British English, it is spelled with a u: neighbour. How to spell neighbor: The easiest way to remember how to spell neighbor is with the classic mnemonic device: I before E, except after C, except when it's EIGH [ ey ], as in neighbor or weigh.

Other Word Forms

• neighborless adjective

Etymology

Origin of neighbor

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English neahgebūr, nēahbūr ( nēah nigh + (ge)būr “farmer”; Boer, boor ); akin to Dutch nabuur, German Nachbar, Old Norse nābūi

Example Sentences

Steve, I think it’s more like we both had this rich neighbor named Xerox and I broke into his house to steal the TV set and found out that you had already stolen it.

From Los Angeles Times

Mirza Mohammad, 70, was equally determined to maintain his usual ritual of strolling to the park near his home in west Tehran and chatting with neighbors.

From Los Angeles Times

Right away, he was fascinated by his neighbors.

From Los Angeles Times

Overall, the results suggest that NGC 1365 started out as a relatively small galaxy and gradually grew into a massive spiral through multiple mergers with smaller neighbors.

From Science Daily

Tensions between the neighbors allegedly came to a head Sunday when the actor and his sons rode their motorbikes through the neighborhood, TMZ reported.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• acquaintance
• friend