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• village
  village

  noun

  a small community or group of houses in a rural area, larger than a hamlet and usually smaller than a town, and sometimes (as in parts of the U.S.) incorporated as a municipality.
• Village
  Village

  noun

  The, a city in central Oklahoma.

village

¹ American  

[vil-ij] / ˈvɪl ɪdʒ /

noun

• villages
  plural

1. a small community or group of houses in a rural area, larger than a hamlet and usually smaller than a town, and sometimes (as in parts of the U.S.) incorporated as a municipality.

2. the inhabitants of such a community collectively.

3. a group of animal dwellings resembling a village.

   a gopher village.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a village.

   village life.

Village ² American  

[vil-ij] / ˈvɪl ɪdʒ /

noun

1. The, a city in central Oklahoma.

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village British  

/ ˈvɪlɪdʒ /

noun

1. a small group of houses in a country area, larger than a hamlet

2. the inhabitants of such a community collectively

3. an incorporated municipality smaller than a town in various parts of the US and Canada

4. a group of habitats of certain animals

5. a self-contained city area having its own shops, etc

6. (modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of a village

   a village green

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Synonym Usage

See community.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intervillage
  adjective
• village-like
  adjective
• villageless
  adjective
• villagey
  adjective
• villagy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• villages
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of village

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin villāticum, neuter of villāticus villatic

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Explanation

A village is a place where people live that's smaller than a city or town. The village where your grandparents live might have a population of only a few hundred people. In the US, some towns, townships, and cities have smaller villages communities within them. There are also villages that are independent of any larger areas. In either case, a village is typically larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town. The majority of Indians live in villages, while in other countries (like Russia and the UK) population has moved to big cities and suburbs, away from traditional villages. The Latin source of village is villa, or "farm."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

village Village villages

In the small fishing village of Petersburg, he found Dan J. Sullivan, who apparently agreed to run if it would help Peltola win.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

Mr. Ocker explains how the village of fewer than 10,000 residents once known as North Tarrytown became a real-world Sleepy Hollow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

I felt like Ina Garten, albeit one whose charming village market featured a mechanical reptile.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

But Wednesday's accident comes after another collision between two high-speed trains outside the southern village of Adamuz in January left 46 dead, which raised major questions about safety on the country's railways.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

In the morning, the castle rang with chimes and bells, not like the single gong of the village bell in The Mountain, but dozens of them ringing in all different tones.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

The full 10.5-acre campus, dubbed Innovative Urban Village, will eventually bring some 2,000 affordable apartments in about 10 buildings, along with a grocery store, trade school, daycare and performing-arts center.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

As Townsend spoke, some of his workers filed out of the group’s airy office in Baldwin Village, wearing the group’s trademark neon green shirts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Another place people weren’t: at the Southern Village Shopping Center.

From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026

That helped to build confidence going into Sunday's derby at Leigh Sports Village, and when Elisabeth Terland fired in a late United equaliser it did not feel like a shock.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

Skinny as I was, I didn’t want to take any chances, so I didn’t go far—just far enough to be surrounded by tall trees where no one from The Village would see me.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

These places, located along the Hudson River north of New York City, were once rural villages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

It meant embracing uncertainty, discomfort, wildly unpredictable weather, and limited accommodations in remote villages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

The murky, magnificent Eel River was once a highway for the Wailaki people, who navigated by canoe and hauled goods between villages in cone-shaped baskets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

Taking in villages and towns surrounding Exmoor National Park, the event offers walks, talks and shows - putting the dark, clear, night sky into full focus.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

I’d come back to the city after curfew before, once or twice, when there was a better price to be had for Mrs. Diamant’s goods in the villages than the city shops.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

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• center
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