vicinity
Americannoun
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the area or region near or about a place; surrounding district; neighborhood.
There are no stores in the vicinity of our house.
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state or fact of being near; proximity; propinquity.
He was troubled by the vicinity of the nuclear testing area.
noun
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a surrounding, adjacent, or nearby area; neighbourhood
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the fact or condition of being close in space or relationship
Etymology
Origin of vicinity
1550–60; < Latin vīcīnitās, equivalent to vīcīn ( us ) near ( vīc ( us ) wick 3, neighborhood + -īnus -ine 1 ) + -itās -ity
Explanation
If something is in your vicinity, it's in the surrounding area or nearby region — it's in the neighborhood, so to speak. If there's a garbage dump in your vicinity, you'll certainly smell it. The noun vicinity evolved from the Latin vicinitas, which means “of or pertaining to neighbors or a neighborhood.” Not until 1796 did the word expand in meaning to also describe a “surrounding district.” Said American author Washington Irving, “A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.” Slang for vicinity include neck of the woods and turf.
Vocabulary lists containing vicinity
100 SAT Words Beginning with "V"
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"Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad"
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Grown
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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.
Other excluded areas included certain flood zones and in the vicinity of listed buildings.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
“It’s a scary situation, especially for those in the vicinity, and in addition to that. For a large number of people, it’s an inconvenience.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026
The noise - lasting and deafening - rose up and swirled around like a typhoon, gathering up everybody in its vicinity, delirious Hearts folk thrilled to be sucked into the vortex.
From BBC • May 4, 2026
Modern warfare in Europe and the Middle East showed that nations under attack and those in the vicinity remain vulnerable to aerial threats from missiles and drones.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
Like all students, Beatrice the Bear lived in the vicinity of her school bus stop.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
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.
