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
- suburbed adjective
- unsuburbed adjective
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.
The needy can also ask for clothing at 523 Amazor street in the Buenos Aires suburb of Fiorito, where the player dubbed Argentina's "Golden Boy" grew up in grinding poverty.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
Hernández was shot early Tuesday during a targeted immigration enforcement operation in the area of Interstate 5 and Sperry Avenue in Patterson, a Stanislaus County suburb.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
In a surprise, Democrat Alicia Halvensleben won the mayor’s race in Waukesha, a suburb west of Milwaukee and the former bulwark of Mr. Walker’s Wisconsin majorities.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Those theories ended in 2023, when police arrested Heuermann, a married father-of-two living in Massapequa Park, a quiet Long Island suburb, in a run-down house where he spent his childhood.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
Teddy’s mom worked as a domestic for a family in Linksfield, a wealthy suburb near school.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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.
