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

There are 32 Community Education Councils across the five boroughs, as well as four citywide councils: On high schools, English Language Learners, special education, and District 75 for students with more serious disabilities. —Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 25 Apr. 2025

City Parks Foundation presents more than 70 free and benefit shows to Central Park and 13 neighborhood parks across the five boroughs — the full lineup appears below; view the official SummerStage 2025 season announcement video here and the full season brochure here. —Jem Aswad, Variety, 23 Apr. 2025

Visitors can travel to Liberty Island via boats that leave from either Battery Park in the New York City borough of Manhattan or Liberty State Park in New Jersey, notes the National Park Service website. —Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025

For a limited time, Seamless is bringing back the once-ubiquitous deal through a campaign that runs April 22 through May 20, giving city dwellers a shot at five cheese slices for a buck each per day at over 40 participating shops across the boroughs. —Stephanie Gravalese, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025

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