neighboring
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of neighboring
Explanation
An object that's neighboring is right next to something else. Neighboring countries share a common border, and neighboring cars are parked side-by-side. In a restaurant, if someone at the neighboring table starts telling terrible jokes, you'll have to listen, since they're adjacent to your table. And if you live in Maine, New Hampshire is the only neighboring state. The adjective neighboring comes from the verb form of neighbor, which is rooted in the Old English words neah, "near," and gebur, "dweller."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They first demonstrated that asexual reproduction through runners reduced competition among neighboring organisms.
From Science Daily • Jun. 10, 2026
Hundreds of thousands more Congolese have fled to neighboring Uganda and Burundi.
From Slate • Jun. 9, 2026
The nearby Sunni al-Kantari Mosque took the opposite approach, opening its doors and providing supplies to Shias sheltering at a neighboring Sunni school.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
The work initially premiered in Paris in 2025, spreading across the French capital and four neighboring cities.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
He was raised by a black nanny and his constant playmates as a boy were the children of a neighboring black family.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.