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• village
  village

  noun

  a small community or group of houses in a rural area, larger than a hamlet and usually smaller than a town, and sometimes (as in parts of the U.S.) incorporated as a municipality.
• Village
  Village

  noun

  The, a city in central Oklahoma.

village

¹ American  

[vil-ij] / ˈvɪl ɪdʒ /

noun

• villages
  plural

1. a small community or group of houses in a rural area, larger than a hamlet and usually smaller than a town, and sometimes (as in parts of the U.S.) incorporated as a municipality.

2. the inhabitants of such a community collectively.

3. a group of animal dwellings resembling a village.

   a gopher village.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a village.

   village life.

Village ² American  

[vil-ij] / ˈvɪl ɪdʒ /

noun

1. The, a city in central Oklahoma.

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village British  

/ ˈvɪlɪdʒ /

noun

1. a small group of houses in a country area, larger than a hamlet

2. the inhabitants of such a community collectively

3. an incorporated municipality smaller than a town in various parts of the US and Canada

4. a group of habitats of certain animals

5. a self-contained city area having its own shops, etc

6. (modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of a village

   a village green

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Synonym Usage

See community.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intervillage
  adjective
• village-like
  adjective
• villageless
  adjective
• villagey
  adjective
• villagy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• villages
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of village

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin villāticum, neuter of villāticus villatic

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Explanation

A village is a place where people live that's smaller than a city or town. The village where your grandparents live might have a population of only a few hundred people. In the US, some towns, townships, and cities have smaller villages communities within them. There are also villages that are independent of any larger areas. In either case, a village is typically larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town. The majority of Indians live in villages, while in other countries (like Russia and the UK) population has moved to big cities and suburbs, away from traditional villages. The Latin source of village is villa, or "farm."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

village Village villages

Cubitt said the lodge had a long history going back to 1796 and it was important for members to keep a presence in the village.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

It took a whole village of Claudes to produce the data in this chart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

It’s still uncertain whether prehistoric Oued Beht functioned as a permanent village, a seasonal center, or something less familiar.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026

A lack of visitor parking can cause problems for those who live in the village, she says, as they can end up dodging cars that "are parked not the way they should be".

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

My father and mother were very good, honest people and great friends with the Hyde family for whom the village was named and who lived near.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Actress Julianne Moore recently opened the doors of her gorgeous West Village duplex penthouse for an apartment tour with Architectural Digest.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

Village pharmacist, 78-year-old Antonio Garcia Colina, said he had rushed to the scene of the crash in his car shortly after it happened to try to help the injured and witnessed several people dying.

From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026

Manchester United against Manchester City was hosted at Leigh Village in October with a crowd of 5,361.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

After hosting a literary event at KGB Bar in the East Village, I found myself with five hungry friends demanding dinner at 1 a.m. on a Tuesday night.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

"And the first to return from his journey. From Century Village."

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

They fanned out across towns and villages, gathered signatures and recruited polling-station monitors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

These places, located along the Hudson River north of New York City, were once rural villages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

It allows tribes to comment on how a proposed housing or infrastructure project might harm graves, ceremonial grounds or ancient villages.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

From villages deep in the Amazon rainforest to the agricultural heartlands in the south and sprawling urban favelas, Brazilians are facing a familiar cast -- with many forced to pick who they least dislike.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

Usually, there would be plenty of people along the way, in villages and cattle camps.

From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola

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Related Words

• center
• suburb

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