suburb
Americannoun
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a district lying immediately outside a city or town, especially a smaller residential community.
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the suburbs, the area composed of such districts.
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an outlying part.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of suburb
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin suburbium, from sub- sub- + urb(s) “city” + -ium -ium
Explanation
A suburb is a residential district located on the outskirts of a city. If you live in the suburbs, you probably travel to the city for work. Suburb comes from Latin: sub means "below or near" and urbis means "city." You also will recognize this root in urban. Suburbs have more single-family homes than apartment buildings, and living there, you are more likely to have a yard with trees and grass. The downside is, if you work in the city, you might have a long commute that adds to the time you are away from your family.
Vocabulary lists containing suburb
Latin Root "sub" Words
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"The Civil Rights Movement"
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The United States
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Indeed, he’s a flesh-and-blood character like any other in this playful drama, set in Cranberry, a forgotten frozen suburb of Rochester, N.Y.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026
Albright and his wife are renting, and looking to buy, in a suburb west of town.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
The Prince of Wales also recorded a birthday message after being stopped by Mark O'Mahoney during a walkabout of the new Newquay suburb.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
With its palm trees standing alongside the minaret and its nondescript suburban homes lining the street, this suburb presents the image of a peaceful, multicultural America.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
The opposing team was the AFC Lightning from Fayetteville, Georgia, a mostly white middle-class suburb south of Atlanta.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
