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

People walk past an Ulta Beauty store in the Manhattan borough of New York City on March 8, 2022. —Melissa Repko, CNBC, 6 Jan. 2025

Born in the Bronx borough of New York City, Lauren got his start designing men's ties by hand from a single drawer in the Empire State Building. —Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2025

Hawkins appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday as the first defendant to be arraigned in the borough in 2025. —Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2025

And to top it all off, locals and visitors can score great deals at hundreds of restaurants across all five boroughs with 2-course lunches and 3-course dinners available for $30, $45, and $60. —Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 31 Dec. 2024

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

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