suburb

noun

sub·​urb ˈsə-ˌbərb 

1

a

: an outlying part of a city or town

b

: a smaller community adjacent to or within commuting distance of a city

c

suburbs plural : the residential area on the outskirts of a city or large town

2

suburbs plural : the near vicinity : environs

suburban

sə-ˈbər-bən 

adjective or noun

suburbanite

sə-ˈbər-bə-ˌnīt 

noun

Did you know?

The Suburbs vs. the Urbs

Given that most of the common words in our language beginning sub- tend to have meanings concerned with “beneath” (as in subterranean and submarine) or “less than” (as with subpar), you would be forgiven for assuming that the suburbs were so named because of their location below, or their status as less than, their urban counterparts. Not so, however: sub- may have other meanings at the beginning of a word; in this case, it indicates not depth or inferiority, but proximity. In other words, the suburbs are a region close to the urbs.

Is urbs an English word? Yes; it is rarely used, but it refers typically to a city, particularly when distinguished from a suburb.

Examples of suburb in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Associated Press reporters in Damascus heard heavy airstrikes overnight and into Tuesday on the city and its suburbs. —Sarah El Deeb, Bassem Mroue, TIME, 10 Dec. 2024

Police in Pennsylvania are searching for a man charged with breaking into a home in a Philadelphia suburb, fatally shooting a 25-year-old man and injuring a woman. —Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 10 Dec. 2024

Montgomery County District Attorney's Office Police in Pennsylvania are searching for the gunman wanted for killing a young man and critically wounding his mother during a home invasion in an upscale Philadelphia suburb, officials said. —Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 10 Dec. 2024

In the aftermath of heavy rains that rolled through Chicago and its suburbs in mid-September last year, the federal government provided over $23 million in relief to Illinois residents. —Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English suburbe, from Anglo-French, from Latin suburbium, from sub- near + urbs city — more at sub-

First Known Use

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

Kids Definition

suburb

noun

sub·​urb ˈsəb-ˌərb 

1

a

: a part of a city or town near its outer edge

b

: a smaller community close to a city

2

plural : the area of homes close to or surrounding a city

suburban

sə-ˈbər-bən 

adjective or noun

Etymology

Middle English suburb "part around the outer edge of a city," from early French (same meaning), from Latin suburbium (same meaning), from sub "under, close to" and urbs "city"