environs
Americanplural noun
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the surrounding parts or districts, as of a city; outskirts; suburbs.
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surrounding objects; surroundings; environment.
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an area or space close by; vicinity.
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of environs
1655–65; < French (plural); replacing Middle English environ < Old French, noun use of environ around; see environ
Explanation
The environs are the areas surrounding a specific place. If you want to go to Boston and its environs on vacation, you might spend time in downtown Boston, but you may also visit Cambridge, Braintree, and Lexington. In general, the environs are the areas surrounding a particular place or location. Environs is a plural noun taking a plural verb, and it comes from an Old French word, environer, meaning to enclose, surround, or encircle. When you book your hotel reservations, you should make sure the environs around the hotel are safe. No matter how clean the hotel is or how good the breakfast, you wouldn't want to stay in an area where you would be leery of going out at night.
Vocabulary lists containing environs
The Federalist Papers, No. 70 by Alexander Hamilton
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Elijah of Buxton
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Emma
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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.
But inside the cloistered environs of the Christian right, it reads as tough.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
Those viewers who live in less-polite environs than Idaho will likely be taken by the genteel way the officers deal with the young people, however the kids are involved with the case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
But when the scientists behind the new study used fossil spore and pollen data from early primate fossil environs to predict the climate, they discovered that the locations were not tropical at the time.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026
Trump is only the latest president to reshape Washington’s physical environs in line with his political goals.
From Slate ● May 18, 2026
The troopers made a cursory examination of the ve-hicle and its environs for signs of foul play and then departed.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
