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

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Etymology

Origin of neighborhood

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

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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

Frustration by neighborhood groups over the missing crime data has boiled over in recent weeks, thanks in part to Raman’s comments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

Toronto-based Razan Khan said people in his neighborhood compete as if their decorations are a movie-level set.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Situated in the heart of the city’s bustling Uptown neighborhood, the building has long been associated with prominent figures in Charlotte’s sports and business communities.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

When my husband and I bought our home, we knew we were making concessions: the neighborhood, the proximity to friends.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

I don’t even know Aunt Tess’s neighborhood except as a night-lurker, walking to and from work past shuttered businesses and empty streets.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Imagine calculating the shortest route between two neighborhoods in the Mumbai suburbs.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

Millions of Jews arrived from Eastern Europe beginning in the 1880s, often settling in neighborhoods with little open space and scant money to spend on recreation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

A night curfew will be imposed in the Republique and Chatelet-Les Halles neighborhoods of Paris from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am on Saturday and Sunday.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

Before 2006, A/C use was low along coastal California, even in wealthy neighborhoods including Santa Monica and La Jolla, Benmarhnia said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

Instead, we steered clear of the old residential neighborhoods bordering the Levee and headed deeper into the vice district’s underbelly.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

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Related Words

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

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