vicinity
noun
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Howdy, neighbor! Today we cozy up to vicinity, a word with neighborly origins that was welcomed into English as a French import in the 16th century from Middle French vicinité. It comes ultimately from Latin vicus, meaning "row of houses" or "village," by way of Latin vicinus, meaning "neighboring." Other descendants of vicinus in English include vicinal (a synonym of local) and vicinage, a synonym of vicinity in the sense of "a neighboring or surrounding district." Both of these are formal and rare, but vicinage is notable for giving title to the Vicinage Clause, a segment of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution that entitles an accused person to "an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law."
Examples of vicinity in a Sentence
Svitlana Vlasova, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2025
Where to Eat Several impressive restaurants operate in the tournament’s vicinity, such as La Grande Cascade and the rooftop of the Molitor Hotel.
—Lauren Mowery, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The first central Atlantic system is currently a disorganized cluster of thunderstorms but is likely to organize into a tropical depression or tropical storm by this weekend and reach the vicinity of the easternmost Caribbean Islands by Friday.
—David Schutz, Sun Sentinel, 21 Aug. 2025
The system is forecast to move westward to west-northwestward and approach the vicinity of the Leeward Islands toward the end of the week, with the NHC giving it a 50% chance of formation through the next seven days.
—Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vicinity
Cite this Entry
“Vicinity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vicinity. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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vicinity
noun
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