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.
He wrote or co-wrote at least 16 books, among them a brilliant monograph on George Howe and his “Paradise Planned: The Garden Suburb and the Modern City,” a massive study of American urbanism.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025
More places are needed as the Ipswich Garden Suburb development, which could comprise 3,500 new homes, is built.
From BBC • Nov. 13, 2024
Sterigenics shuttered a medical sterilization plant in a Chicago Suburb after monitoring found emissions spikes in nearby neighborhoods and settled numerous lawsuits.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 11, 2023
He and his wife lived in a manse in London’s tony Hampstead Garden Suburb.
From Washington Post • Jan. 11, 2023
Sky and Suburb Monthly says there’s no other upcar like it.
From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson
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.
