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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
At the time of the explosion, there were approximately 300 people in the vicinity of baggage claim, but there was no evidence to suggest any had been a target.
From Slate • Jul. 7, 2026
When O’Brien lobbed questions at Richards, many of the guitarist’s answers were undiscernible; he seemed uninterested in keeping his microphone in the vicinity of his mouth.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 6, 2026
Props including a grand piano, carpets and a box of mirror balls have been seen being taken into the arena, while "no parking" signs have been placed around the vicinity.
From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026
National Guard troops have been spotted in the vicinity of the venue in recent days, a not uncommon sight under a state-level deployment to secure major venues and transit hubs in the Big Apple.
From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026
Wells pretended not to notice; but like a horse that has heard the hum of a rattlesnake, he shied away from the betrayed man’s venomous vicinity.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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.
