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

So Far The village oracle cursed Kratos by literally bonding the ashes of his deceased family to his body, earning him the Ghost of Sparta nickname for his ghostly white visage. —Diego Argüello, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2025

The route passes along medieval villages, imposing glaciers, lakeshores dotted with palm trees, and through 13 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. —Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2025

Around the same time as the excavations in Abydos, a group of archaeologists from the Supreme Council of Antiquities discovered a pottery workshop in the village of Banawit that dates back to Egypt’s Roman and Byzantine eras, between 30 B.C.E. and 642 C.E. —Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2025

Apart from the village, the lawsuit names police Chief Eric Rossi and Brian West, previously deputy chief and now interim village manager, among the defendants. —Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 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