suburban

[suh-bur-buhn]

adjective

1. pertaining to, inhabiting, or being in a suburb or the suburbs of a city or town.

2. characteristic of a suburb or suburbs.

noun

1. a suburbanite.

2. a short overcoat for casual wear.

3. station wagon.

suburban

/ səˈbɜːbən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, situated in, or inhabiting a suburb or the suburbs

2. characteristic of or typifying a suburb or the suburbs

3. pejorative,  narrow or unadventurous in outlook

noun

1. another word for suburbanite

Other Word Forms

• suburbanism noun
• nonsuburban adjective
• semisuburban adjective
• unsuburban adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of suburban¹

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin suburbānus “located close to a city (especially to Rome),” equivalent to sub- + urb- (stem of urbs “city”) + -ānus adjective suffix; sub-, urban

Example Sentences

These residential compounds offer a lifestyle more like Western suburban areas and have gyms, pools, restaurants and other amenities in a self-contained area.

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He was greeted with steely silence, but the joke, if it was that, might well have killed in the classroom of a suburban high school.

Read more on Salon

The two-year conflict between Robert “Fish” Amiryan and Ara Artuni at times turned suburban streets in the San Fernando Valley into war zones, federal authorities said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"Over the years, we've seen a shift from handwritten to printed prescriptions in cities, but in suburban and rural areas, most are still handwritten."

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The situation is in stark contrast to the rebuilding efforts in more suburban communities, like Santa Rosa and Redding, where construction was buzzing along two years after the flames.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• rural