neighborhood

noun

neigh·​bor·​hood ˈnā-bər-ˌhu̇d 

1

: neighborly relationship

… a closer feeling of brotherhood, a more efficient sense of neighborhood …

—Nathaniel Hawthorne

2

: the quality or state of being neighbors : proximity

… refugees from the country, driven by fear or the neighborhood of armies.

—F. L. Paxson

3

a

: a place or region near : vicinity

somewhere in the neighborhood of that city

b

: an approximate amount, extent, or degree

cost in the neighborhood of $100

4

a

: the people living near one another

The whole neighborhood heard about it.

b

: a section lived in by neighbors and usually having distinguishing characteristics

a quiet neighborhood

5

: the set (see set entry 2 sense 21) of all points belonging to a given set whose distances from a given point are less than a given positive (see positive entry 1 sense 4e) number

broadly : a set that contains a neighborhood

Synonyms of neighborhood

• vicinity
• tune

Examples of neighborhood in a Sentence

They bought a house in a beautiful neighborhood.

The whole neighborhood heard about it.

Recent Examples on the Web

What Black child in the 44105 of Ohio has kids from the neighborhood gather, put out folding chairs, put a needle on a record to play, walk out and do a magic trick and a joke, and then interview Junior from down the street? —Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2026

The student later admitted his former teacher had picked him up from school and driven him to a nearby neighborhood. —Logan Smith, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026

The neighborhood/area The Nam Hai is located about 18 miles south of the bustling city of Da Nang where there’s an international airport and a train station. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Mar. 2026

Critics have raised legitimate questions about whether cameras get placed disproportionately in lower-income neighborhoods, turning a public health tool into a revenue machine aimed at the wrong zip codes. —Kim Komando The Kim Komando Show, FOXNews.com, 28 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing neighborhood

• in the neighborhood
• in the neighborhood of
• neighborhood watch

Rhymes for neighborhood

• adulthood
• babyhood
• brotherhood
• cottonwood
• fatherhood
• firewood
• fuelwood
• hardihood
• ironwood
• leatherwood
• likelihood
• livelihood

Kids Definition

neighborhood

noun

neigh·​bor·​hood ˈnā-bər-ˌhu̇d 

1

: the quality or state of being neighbors

2

a

: a place or region near : vicinity

b

: a number or amount near

cost in the neighborhood of $10

3

a

: the people living near one another

b

: a section lived in by people who consider themselves neighbors