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.
the inhabitants of such a community collectively.
a group of animal dwellings resembling a village.
a gopher village.
a small group of houses in a country area, larger than a hamlet
the inhabitants of such a community collectively
an incorporated municipality smaller than a town in various parts of the US and Canada
a group of habitats of certain animals
a self-contained city area having its own shops, etc
(modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of a village
a village green
See community.
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin villāticum, neuter of villāticus villatic
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."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Karolina Urbanova had never heard of lumberjack sports until a new neighbour moved into her small Czech village and enlisted her help for events when she was a teenager.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Hikers were tromping right through the middle of the village, led by a user-generated route on a popular outdoors adventure app, she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Another maramaba noblewoman Tamu Rambu Margaretha -- widely known as Mama Margaretha -- has long sought to loosen the bonds of slavery in her village of Prailiu, even travelling to Jakarta to advocate emancipation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
The director’s method was to work out the specifics in the film’s environments, namely the beaches of Morocco’s Essaouira and in the mountain village of Aït Benhaddou, where Troy was constructed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
A big open sound rang through the air, like the village bell, but deeper and longer.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
In his time as the MP for Leigh, Burnham was a driving force behind the construction of Leigh Sports Village.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
According the legend, boy and girl twins born in Higashi Village on a day with equal parts day and night herald a cataclysm that only they can mend.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
One of them is Uzma Hussain, who had opened the Axe and Ember Smokehouse with her husband in Walthamstow Village just before Christmas.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Last year, Pacific Palisades-based fashion designer Elyse Walker said she would reopen her eponymous store in Palisades Village after losing her 25-year flagship location on Antioch Street to the inferno.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Everyone in the Olympic Village was constantly exercising, because we all had to be in the best shape of our lives.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
While the country waited for the team's arrival, celebrations continued overnight from Madrid to Spain's smallest villages on Sunday night.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
In nearby Gassin, listed among the most beautiful villages in France, rates at La Bastide d’Antoine hotel drop to $250 in October.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The foie gras frenzy came out of a push by Beijing to find sustainable industries for rural villages left behind when workers flooded into cities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
There are few homes immediately around the proposed release site, but villages, roads and dams all fall within the broader area tigers might one day roam.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
We don’t have many disrespectful kids in our villages.
From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola
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.
