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

Langley, Flock’s CEO, is an electrical engineer who co-founded the company in 2017 after a series of break-ins in his Atlanta neighborhood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Rowan said he was aware the neighborhood would be hostile based on battles it had with the previous owner.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Like a neighborhood bar or a bowling alley, the internet was a place you could reliably go to have fun and occasionally learn something from semi-strangers who shared your interests.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

The cemeteries, neighborhood councils and clergy leaders had opposed the loss of motor vehicle lanes, saying it would cause a traffic nightmare.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

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

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

As the couple looks for a home in San Diego, Jones appealed to fans to share what they love about their neighborhoods.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

Vast green spaces connect many of Pittsburgh’s pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

The change in elevation from the waterfront at sea level to Genoa’s mountainous hinterland approaches 6,000 feet, and variations between adjoining neighborhoods can be as much as several hundred feet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Oldenburg was pushing back against restrictive zoning and suburbanization, arguing that fully residential neighborhoods weakened the societal fabric of the United States.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

This place feels like the eerie, abandoned suburban neighborhoods that surround nuclear power plant leaks.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Related Words

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