village

noun

vil·​lage ˈvi-lij 

often attributive

1

a

: a settlement usually larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town

b

: an incorporated minor municipality

2

: the residents of a village

3

: something (such as an aggregation of burrows or nests) suggesting a village

4

: a territorial area having the status of a village especially as a unit of local government

Synonyms

• bourg
• hamlet
• townlet
• vill
• whistle-stop

Examples of village in a Sentence

Entire villages come to see the parade.

we stayed in a charming bed-and-breakfast in a lakeside village

Recent Examples on the Web

While wintertime in New England conjures images of pristine pine forests and quaint villages blanketed in snow, the frigid weather can also make life a little difficult to deal with. —Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025

Through the Song Saa Foundation, guests can visit the nearby village of Prek Svay, help plant coral nurseries, or snorkel with marine scientists. —Laura Begley Bloom, AFAR Media, 25 Feb. 2025

Among them was school board member Mary Kay Baum, who hiked into the nearby mountains to avoid a military blockade and deliver the sister city proclamation to village residents. —Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 24 Feb. 2025

The team also found another section of the Bronze Age pile-dwelling village and took wood samples for further laboratory analysis, the institute said. —Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 24 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French vilage, from vil manorial estate, farmstead, from Latin villa

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing village

• global village
• inter-village
• Potemkin village

Rhymes for village

• millage
• pillage
• spillage

Kids Definition

village

noun

vil·​lage ˈvil-ij 

1

: a place somewhat smaller than a town

2

: the people living in a village