neighborhood

American  

[ney-ber-hood] / ˈneɪ bərˌhʊd /

noun

• neighborhoods
  plural

1. the area or region around or near some place or thing; vicinity.

   the kids of the neighborhood; located in the neighborhood of Jackson and Vine streets.

2. a district or locality, often with reference to its character or inhabitants.

   a fashionable neighborhood; to move to a nicer neighborhood.

   Synonyms:

   vicinity, locale, area, community

3. a number of persons living near one another or in a particular locality.

   The whole neighborhood was there.

4. neighborly feeling or conduct.

5. nearness; proximity.

   to sense the neighborhood of trouble.

6. Mathematics. an open set that contains a given point.

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idioms

1. in the neighborhood of, approximately; nearly; about.

   She looks to be in the neighborhood of 70.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• neighborhoods
  plural

Etymology

Origin of neighborhood

First recorded in 1400–50, neighborhood is from the late Middle English word neighborehode. See neighbor, -hood

Explanation

Use the noun neighborhood when you're talking about a community within a town or city. Getting to know the people and places in your neighborhood can make you feel right at home in a city of millions. A neighborhood can be created by lines on a map that designate a district, or it can grow over time to become a neighborhood with a certain personality, based on who lives there. You can also use neighborhood to describe something nearby, like promising to visit a friend the next time you are in the neighborhood — or something that's approximate, like a restaurants whose burgers are in the neighborhood of ten dollars.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

neighborhood neighborhoods

The chase continued through a residential neighborhood, busy surface streets and on and off the 405.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

The neighborhood has a rich history in the film industry, as well.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

The comedy icon, who turned 100 in June, was born in the silent era and grew up in Brooklyn devouring double bills at his neighborhood theater in the 1930s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

They may move to Florida or Texas or out of a Jewish neighborhood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Carlos seems to know everyone in the neighborhood and greets friends as they stroll past.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

Even though “war” is somewhat metaphorical here, it has always been waged like one, with military-grade equipment used to police neighborhoods, support clandestine spying operations and aid in the invasion of cities.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

Unfortunately, many Americans don’t always have the time or live in safe enough neighborhoods to exercise, which can make the diet’s lifestyle components tricky to adopt.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026

They found a foothold in Elizabeth, N.J., where they joined a close-knit group of other Holocaust survivors who began building houses, and then entire neighborhoods, that formed post-war suburbs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Pereira's worst affected neighborhoods were also its most impoverished, with homeless people, Venezuelan migrants and street vendors in precarious situations bearing the brunt of the impact.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

They passed through industrial neighborhoods, where the orb buzz was drowned out by the sound of clanging hammers and the whir of saws.

From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat

Related Words

• area
• block
• district
• parish
• part
• precinct
• region
• section
• street
• suburb
• territory
• zone