neighborhood

noun

neigh·​bor·​hood ˈnā-bər-ˌhu̇d 

1

: neighborly relationship

… a closer feeling of brotherhood, a more efficient sense of neighborhood …

—Nathaniel Hawthorne

2

: the quality or state of being neighbors : proximity

… refugees from the country, driven by fear or the neighborhood of armies.

—F. L. Paxson

3

a

: a place or region near : vicinity

traveled to a place somewhere in the neighborhood of that city

b

: an approximate amount, extent, or degree

cost in the neighborhood of $100

4

a

: the people living near one another

The whole neighborhood heard about it.

b

: a section lived in by neighbors and usually having distinguishing characteristics

lived in a quiet neighborhood

5

: the set (see set entry 2 sense 21) of all points belonging to a given set whose distances from a given point are less than a given positive (see positive entry 1 sense 4e) number

broadly : a set that contains a neighborhood

Synonyms

• matter
• tune
• vicinity

Examples of neighborhood in a Sentence

They bought a house in a beautiful neighborhood.

The whole neighborhood heard about it.

Recent Examples on the Web

Nearly a month after deadly wildfires ripped through Los Angeles neighborhoods, the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) has finally reopened in Malibu, California. —Greg Wehner, Fox News, 4 Feb. 2025

Investigators trying determine why an air ambulance plummeted into a neighborhood here last week were working with valuable tools Monday after announcing the cockpit voice recorder had been recovered from the site of the deadly crash. —John Bacon, USA TODAY, 3 Feb. 2025

The native New Yorker returned to the East Coast after covering neighborhood news in Denver at Denverite and Colorado Public Radio. —Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 3 Feb. 2025

Wednesday’s crash was the deadliest in the U.S. since Nov. 12, 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground. —David R. Martin, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing neighborhood

• in the neighborhood
• in the neighborhood of
• neighborhood watch

Kids Definition

neighborhood

noun

neigh·​bor·​hood ˈnā-bər-ˌhu̇d 

1

: the quality or state of being neighbors

2

a

: a place or region near : vicinity

b

: a number or amount near

cost in the neighborhood of $10

3

a

: the people living near one another

b

: a section lived in by people who consider themselves neighbors