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 of village

• hamlet

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

The same village, which both sides claim, was the site of a confrontation in September between Thai security personnel and Cambodian villagers. —Helen Regan, CNN Money, 13 Nov. 2025

The army said the settlers who attacked the villages fled to a nearby industrial zone and attacked soldiers responding to the violence, damaging a military vehicle. —NPR, 13 Nov. 2025

In the 1968 massacre in a village during the Vietnam War, it was estimated that hundreds of civilians were killed. —Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 12 Nov. 2025

And some communities don’t even document flood complaints – Monroe County, which covers the entire Florida Keys, and the village of Miami Shores, for instance. —Susan Merriam, Miami Herald, 12 Nov. 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