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

Following a group of preteens that form a baby-sitting business in their quiet suburb, the series is sweet and deeply relevant to the kids who are watching (even if the sitters still use a landline for the nostalgia). —Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 8 July 2025

Thorn would go on to take a job as a metal worker at the Alsthom transport vehicle factory in the outer Paris suburb of Saint-Ouen, staying there for eight years. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 8 July 2025

Some of that has been in cities, and some in a suburb. —Marina Bolotnikova, Vox, 7 July 2025

Three people were injured in the late Saturday crash and subsequent explosion in Herriman, a southwest Salt Lake City suburb, the local fire department wrote in an Instagram post. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 6 July 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"