neighbor

American  

[ney-ber] / ˈneɪ bər /

especially British, neighbour

noun

neighbors plural

1. a person who lives near another.

   My next door neighbor has an orange cat.

2. a person or thing that is near another.

3. one's fellow human being.

   You must be generous toward your less fortunate neighbors.

4. a person who shows kindliness or helpfulness toward others.

   She's always a neighbor to people in distress.

5. (used as a term of address, especially as a friendly greeting to a stranger).

   Tell me, neighbor, which way to town?

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adjective

1. situated or living near another.

   One of our neighbor nations is in need of aid.

verb (used with object)

1. to live or be situated near to; adjoin; border on.

   Germany neighbors Denmark.

2. to place or bring near.

verb (used without object)

1. to live or be situated nearby.

2. to associate with or as if with one's neighbors; be neighborly or friendly (often followed bywith ).

Usage

Spelling tips for neighbor The word neighbor is hard to spell because it is spelled differently from the way it is pronounced [ ney-ber ]. To make it even more confusing, neighbor is the American English spelling of the word. In British English, it is spelled with a u: neighbour. How to spell neighbor: The easiest way to remember how to spell neighbor is with the classic mnemonic device: I before E, except after C, except when it's EIGH [ ey ], as in neighbor or weigh.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• neighborless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• neighbors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of neighbor

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English neahgebūr, nēahbūr ( nēah nigh + (ge)būr “farmer”; see Boer, boor); akin to Dutch nabuur, German Nachbar, Old Norse nābūi

Explanation

A neighbor is a nearby person or thing. Be kind to your neighbor, for you never know when you will need to borrow sugar, a shovel, or the spare key to your house. The noun neighbor, spelled neahgebur in Old English, translates to “near” “dweller” when broken down into its individual parts. It makes sense, then, that neighbor refers to a nearby person, place, or thing. “It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours,” quipped Harry S. Truman, the 33rd American president.

Example Sentences

Canada, our neighbor to the north, faces off against Qatar, which gifted our president a jet, at 6 Eastern.

From Slate • Jun. 18, 2026

It asks who our neighbor is, and then refuses to draw the boundary anywhere short of everyone.

From Salon • Jun. 14, 2026

When she and her gardener sheet-mulched the front yard with cardboard Amazon boxes she had collected from her neighbors in October, one neighbor joked that it looked ready for Halloween.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

"If you're connected to your neighbor by these runners, then you're sharing nutrients and you don't need to compete with them," said Manica.

From Science Daily • Jun. 10, 2026

My neighbor swings the door open and runs into her kitchen.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• acquaintance
• friend