suburb

noun

sub·​urb ˈsə-ˌbərb 

1

a

: an outlying part of a city or town

b

: a smaller community adjacent to or within commuting distance of a city

c

suburbs plural : the residential area on the outskirts of a city or large town

2

suburbs plural : the near vicinity : environs

suburban

sə-ˈbər-bən 

adjective or noun

suburbanite

sə-ˈbər-bə-ˌnīt 

noun

Did you know?

The Suburbs vs. the Urbs

Given that most of the common words in our language beginning sub- tend to have meanings concerned with “beneath” (as in subterranean and submarine) or “less than” (as with subpar), you would be forgiven for assuming that the suburbs were so named because of their location below, or their status as less than, their urban counterparts. Not so, however: sub- may have other meanings at the beginning of a word; in this case, it indicates not depth or inferiority, but proximity. In other words, the suburbs are a region close to the urbs.

Is urbs an English word? Yes; it is rarely used, but it refers typically to a city, particularly when distinguished from a suburb.

Examples of suburb in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The opening ceremony of the 1924 Summer Olympics, held at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes, a northwestern suburb of Paris. —Marley Marius, Vogue, 22 June 2024

The private school has been operating for more than four decades in the Port-au-Prince suburbs but had to revamp its education services amid a spike in gang violence this year. —Websder Corneille, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 June 2024

Three people were injured after multiple gunmen in a vehicle opened fire on a community center that was hosting a funeral reception in the Chicago suburbs, officials said. —Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 21 June 2024

The man behind the historic brew is Dylan McDonnell, a homebrewer and nonprofit operations manager with a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies, who lives in Millcreek, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English suburbe, from Anglo-French, from Latin suburbium, from sub- near + urbs city — more at sub-

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

suburb

noun

sub·​urb ˈsəb-ˌərb 

1

a

: a part of a city or town near its outer edge

b

: a smaller community close to a city

2

plural : the area of homes close to or surrounding a city

suburban

sə-ˈbər-bən 

adjective or noun

Etymology

Middle English suburb "part around the outer edge of a city," from early French (same meaning), from Latin suburbium (same meaning), from sub "under, close to" and urbs "city"