vicinity
Americannoun
plural
vicinities-
the area or region near or about a place; surrounding district; neighborhood.
There are no stores in the vicinity of our house.
-
state or fact of being near; proximity; propinquity.
He was troubled by the vicinity of the nuclear testing area.
noun
-
a surrounding, adjacent, or nearby area; neighbourhood
-
the fact or condition of being close in space or relationship
Etymology
Origin of vicinity
1550–60; < Latin vīcīnitās, equivalent to vīcīn ( us ) near ( vīc ( us ) wick 3, neighborhood + -īnus -ine 1 ) + -itās -ity
Explanation
If something is in your vicinity, it's in the surrounding area or nearby region — it's in the neighborhood, so to speak. If there's a garbage dump in your vicinity, you'll certainly smell it. The noun vicinity evolved from the Latin vicinitas, which means “of or pertaining to neighbors or a neighborhood.” Not until 1796 did the word expand in meaning to also describe a “surrounding district.” Said American author Washington Irving, “A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.” Slang for vicinity include neck of the woods and turf.
Vocabulary lists containing vicinity
100 SAT Words Beginning with "V"
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"Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad"
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Grown
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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.
He received the endorsement of groups like the Black Clergy of Philadelphia & Vicinity.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 24, 2022
One of this summer’s employers is Vicinity Energy, a sustainable energy company that’s participated with YouthWorks for more than a decade.
From Washington Post • Jul. 14, 2021
He introduced me to Go Vicinity, who made the massive baggy jeans for the Stone Roses.
From The Guardian • Jul. 7, 2020
Ruben Colon, a representative of the New York City & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters union, said a lack of safety training for construction workers is contributing to the fatalities.
From New York Times • Aug. 27, 2019
Now, there is a greater Vicinity, in Nature, betwixt two rooms than betwixt two houses; betwixt two houses, than betwixt two cities; and so, of the rest.
From An English Garner Critical Essays & Literary Fragments by Arber, Thomas Seccombe, Professor
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.
