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.
Hundreds of thousands more Congolese have fled to neighboring Uganda and Burundi.
From Slate • Jun. 9, 2026
My grandmother positions a chair in front of the windows of our sunroom, which look out onto the neighboring hills dotted with bungalows, Tuscan pines and tall palm trees.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
MetLife stadium, outside the city in neighboring New Jersey state, will host its first match of the World Cup on Saturday.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
Jeong’s dense, dynamic brushwork distinguishes his style from those of the neighboring landscape traditions of China and Japan.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
No color at all, save for the neighboring trees and the grass of the surrounding fields.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
