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

Officials began investigating the incident and, with assistance from ICE, served warrants Tuesday for criminal trespass and voyeurism at a location on S. 13th Street in Hamilton, a northwest suburb of Cincinnati, police said. —Audrey Conklin, FOXNews.com, 26 June 2025

His distillery, believed by some to be located near Royal Spring in what is now a suburb of Georgetown, became one of the early renowned whiskey producers in Kentucky, helping to establish the area’s reputation for high-quality bourbon. —Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said on May 26, 2024 deputies responded to the business on the 7100 block of Rancho Mission Drive in the city's suburb of Bellaire, where a couple was staying with their 4-month-old child Brooklyn Fancher. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 25 June 2025

How many janitors and clerks—who commute for hours from Tehran’s poorest suburbs—are now dead or injured? —Siamak Namazi, Time, 25 June 2025

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"