neighborhood

American  

[nay-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 flooding was remarkable even for a neighborhood that has been prone to regular inundations in the past, particularly during El Niño.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

“The Yellow Line is where you see the buildings that stand,” the military official said in the sandy ruins of Shuja’iyya, a neighborhood that saw repeated rounds of fighting during the war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

It has given tax breaks to entrepreneurs to set up 24 neighborhood markets, where around 20 basic food and hygiene products are available for between 10 and 15 percent less than in private-run stores.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Brolin explained exactly what he disliked about the neighborhood, noting: “I like a little grit. You know what I mean? There’s not a lot of grit in Sandy Springs.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

She has orchestra friends and newspaper friends and neighborhood friends she’s known her entire life.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

The 9th District stretches from the western edge of downtown L.A. to the Convention Center, USC and neighborhoods along the Harbor Freeway, including Vermont Square, South Park and Florence-Graham.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Bass believes city planners should work collaboratively with neighborhoods on ways of accommodating growth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Even if opposition slows projects, developers say they expect more batteries to come closer to neighborhoods in the years ahead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

I know that firsthand, having grown up without economic privilege and having worked in neighborhoods blighted by socioeconomic hardship.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026

There are Facebook pages for dozens of neighborhoods where people have started checking themselves in as safely evacuated and with access to water—because those two things don’t necessarily go together.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Related Words

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