neighbor

American  

[ney-ber] / ˈneɪ bər /

especially British, neighbour

noun

• neighbors
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• neighborless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• neighbors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of neighbor

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

Explanation

A neighbor is a nearby person or thing. Be kind to your neighbor, for you never know when you will need to borrow sugar, a shovel, or the spare key to your house. The noun neighbor, spelled neahgebur in Old English, translates to “near” “dweller” when broken down into its individual parts. It makes sense, then, that neighbor refers to a nearby person, place, or thing. “It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours,” quipped Harry S. Truman, the 33rd American president.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

neighbor neighbors

Spain’s arrangement has given asymmetric leverage to its smaller, poorer neighbor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Fatine, on how Raynette has shown up as a neighbor:

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

The moon has a brand new crater as of Wednesday, thanks to a rogue SpaceX rocket that crashed into Earth’s nearest neighbor at 5,400 miles an hour.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

Cleanup workers will be allowed to remove waste and fire debris only through the warehouse’s south loading dock, which is farther from neighbor homes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

“You know my dad, Tom, and that’s my neighbor, Mr. Patterson,” I said, pointing to them at the edge of the rocks.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

Using whiteboards and chalkboards the neighbors communicate with one another for a while, trying to determine how widespread the phenomenon is.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The 67-year-old breast cancer survivor, who consults on sustainable textiles and runs a small farmers market, would never have her own property sprayed with pesticides, but admits to having envied neighbors who did.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

In the 1990s, as remnants of the Berlin Wall were chiseled into souvenirs, a reunited Germany started assembling a passport-free travel zone with France and its neighbors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Corrinne, on how Bill and Linda show up as neighbors:

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

I knew the friends and neighbors residing there wouldn’t pester me about Wonders—or anything else.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

Related Words

• acquaintance
• friend