borough

noun

bor·​ough ˈbər-(ˌ)ō 

ˈbə-(ˌ)rō

1

a

: a medieval fortified group of houses forming a town with special duties and privileges

b

: a town or urban constituency in Great Britain that sends a member to Parliament

c

: an urban area in Great Britain incorporated for purposes of self-government

2

a

: a municipal corporation proper in some states (such as New Jersey and Minnesota) corresponding to the incorporated town or village of the other states

b

: one of the five constituent political divisions of New York City

3

: a civil division of the state of Alaska corresponding to a county in most other states

Examples of borough in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Students launched petitions for Mamdani to cancel the tests; the Queens borough president called on the schools chancellor to step in. — Dan Greene, New Yorker, 20 June 2026

As of Sunday, detectives had investigated 41 homicides in the borough, five less than the same time last year. — Theodore Parisienne, New York Daily News, 19 June 2026

This is why the suburban outskirts of the outer boroughs may be the first to get drone delivery service, says Rivera. — Anne Kadet, Curbed, 19 June 2026

This corner of Ealing, a borough in West London, used to flood regularly during heavy rainstorms, with water sweeping into local streets and inundating the nearby Greenford tube station, part of the London Underground. — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 18 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English burgh, from Old English burg fortified town; akin to Old High German burg fortified place, and probably to Old English beorg hill — more at barrow

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing borough

• borough English
• borough hall
• county borough
• inter-borough
• metropolitan borough
• municipal borough
• pocket borough
• rotten borough

Rhymes for borough

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau

Kids Definition

borough

noun

bor·​ough ˈbər-ō 

1

a

: a town or urban area in Great Britain that sends a member to Parliament

b

: a self-governing urban area in Great Britain

2

: a self-governing town or village in some states

3

: one of the five political divisions of New York City