borough

noun

bor·​ough ˈbər-(ˌ)ō 

ˈbə-(ˌ)rō

1

a

: a medieval fortified group of houses forming a town with special duties and privileges

b

: a town or urban constituency in Great Britain that sends a member to Parliament

c

: an urban area in Great Britain incorporated for purposes of self-government

2

a

: a municipal corporation proper in some states (such as New Jersey and Minnesota) corresponding to the incorporated town or village of the other states

b

: one of the five constituent political divisions of New York City

3

: a civil division of the state of Alaska corresponding to a county in most other states

Examples of borough in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

It was founded in the wake of 9/11 as a way to bring people back to lower Manhattan, but has since grown and expanded to have events in all of the city’s boroughs. —Brent Lang, Variety, 7 June 2026

New York Knicks fans can cheer on their beloved team pretty much anywhere in the city’s five boroughs on Monday night — except outside Madison Square Garden. —Doha Madani, NBC news, 7 June 2026

Haverill is introduced in season 1 as a domineering borough commander who antagonizes Det. —Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026

SummerStage Over in Central Park, roughly 2,000 Knicks fans spanning multiple generations, boroughs and neighborhoods were watching Game 1 at SummerStage. —Dick Brennan, CBS News, 4 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English burgh, from Old English burg fortified town; akin to Old High German burg fortified place, and probably to Old English beorg hill — more at barrow

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing borough

• borough English
• borough hall
• county borough
• inter-borough
• metropolitan borough
• municipal borough
• pocket borough
• rotten borough

Rhymes for borough

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau

Kids Definition

borough

noun

bor·​ough ˈbər-ō 

1

a

: a town or urban area in Great Britain that sends a member to Parliament

b

: a self-governing urban area in Great Britain

2

: a self-governing town or village in some states

3

: one of the five political divisions of New York City