Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

suburbanize

American  
[suh-bur-buh-nahyz] / səˈbɜr bəˌnaɪz /
especially British, suburbanise

verb (used with object)

suburbanized, suburbanizing
  1. to give suburban characteristics to.

    to suburbanize a rural area.


suburbanize British  
/ sʌˈbɜːbəˌnaɪz /

verb

  1. (tr) to make suburban

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of suburbanize

First recorded in 1890–95; suburban + -ize


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.

See Examples For:

Any final zoning changes are years away, and there are no immediate plans to suburbanize Avocado Heights and Pellissier Village.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2023

But these foundations are under stress because, as we urbanize and suburbanize natural areas, we have an unfortunate tendency to sterilize the landscape.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 17, 2021

Traditionally a hub for ranching and farming, Kaufman County has steadily suburbanized, and also encompasses parts of Cedar Creek Lake, a popular fishing and recreation area.

From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2023

In suburbanized, car-centric parts of the world, including most of the United States, those who cannot drive are often cut off from fully participating in their community.

From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2023

Much of that bounty — from celery to snapdragons — came from the sweeping square miles of what is now the thoroughly suburbanized South Bay and southeast L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2021

Ashton remained largely rural through the 1980s, but it has slowly become more dense and suburbanized in the decades since.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 6, 2021

Old Hundred and I were taking our Saturday afternoon walk in the country—that is, in such suburbanized country as we could achieve in the neighborhood of New York.

From Penguin Persons & Peppermints by Walter Prichard Eaton

And he wanted his own land, but the ground around San Jose was already suburbanizing.

From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2022

“If you think of where the expansion of population has been, it’s really that we’re a rapidly suburbanizing population,” he said.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 26, 2021

The sudden depopulation of New Orleans, and its inequitable recovery, accelerated the kind of inner-city gentrification and suburbanizing poverty seen in metropolitan areas around the country.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2015

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember new words for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com