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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 urban in a Sentence
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Apr. 2026
According to the Department of Planning and Development, they're being sold at market rate and can be used for affordable housing, urban agriculture, or side yards.
—Todd Feurer, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2026
While Heinrich ponders the misfiring neurons in the brain of a mass shooter, Jack’s pursuit of Mink—a character whose skin color and ambiguous ethnicity Jack remarks on repeatedly—leads him directly into the urban teeth of the War on Drugs.
—Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
The incident unfolded Tuesday night on busy urban roads designed for high-speed flow.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 1 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for urban
Cite this Entry
“Urban.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/urban. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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urban
adjective
