suburban
Americanadjective
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pertaining to, inhabiting, or being in a suburb or the suburbs of a city or town.
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characteristic of a suburb or suburbs.
noun
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a suburbanite.
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a short overcoat for casual wear.
adjective
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of, relating to, situated in, or inhabiting a suburb or the suburbs
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characteristic of or typifying a suburb or the suburbs
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pejorative narrow or unadventurous in outlook
noun
Other Word Forms
- nonsuburban adjective
- semisuburban adjective
- suburbanism noun
- unsuburban adjective
Etymology
Origin of suburban
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin suburbānus “located close to a city (especially to Rome),” equivalent to sub- + urb- (stem of urbs “city”) + -ānus adjective suffix; see origin at sub-, urban
Explanation
Suburban refers to areas just beyond a city’s border. Your parents might have grown up in the city and then moved to a more suburban area after they had kids. If you see a lot of malls, plus houses that all look the same, and you're just outside a city, then you're in a suburban area: the suburbs. If you're from the suburbs, the chaos of New York City might be shocking. Suburban areas aren't as busy as urban (city) areas, but there's a lot more going on than in rural areas — farmland. One difference between suburban and urban areas is the urban areas have more cabs and public transportation.
Vocabulary lists containing suburban
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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.
In suburban New York, Garcia is still getting used to other adjustments beyond her new financial realities.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
He pegged it to 2007, when another invasive species took off, the one that now dominated the landscape on our drive: suburban sprawl.
From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026
A three-month unlimited travel pass on the local Mumbai suburban railway is significantly cheaper at 590 rupees.
From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026
Levy plays Nicky, a pastor at a sparsely attended suburban New Jersey church of no evident denomination.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
This place feels like the eerie, abandoned suburban neighborhoods that surround nuclear power plant leaks.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
