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

And yet on the first day of early voting, in Weaverville, a suburb of Asheville, the parking lot of one voting site—the Weaverville Community Center, in Buncombe County—was full, and the line snaked around the block, almost a full hour before voting had even begun. —The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024

All the ballots are in Cobb County, a northern suburb of Atlanta that voted for Joe Biden in 2020. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024

In March, the family moved into a two-bedroom apartment in a sprawling complex of 1970s low-rise buildings in Aurora, a suburb just outside Denver. —Anjeanette Damon, ProPublica, 4 Nov. 2024

Complicating the water squeeze, the city is repairing a big, leaky aqueduct that carries water from the Catskill region, so residents are relying more on reservoirs in the city’s northern suburbs. —Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 2 Nov. 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"