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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 suburb in a Sentence
Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 20 July 2025
Living in the same suburb, the two women had crossed paths over the years but weren’t close friends until the pandemic.
—Irene S. Levine, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
New Jersey non-profit Montclair Film has signed a multi-year deal to operate the century-old Bellevue Theatre, expanding its footprint in the New York City suburb.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 18 July 2025
The South Cook district is headquartered in Harvey and covers 340 square miles, responsible for mosquito control in the townships of Bloom, Bremen, Calumet, Lemont, Orland, Palos, Rich, Thornton and Worth, an area taking in more than 50 south and southwest suburbs.
—Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for suburb
Cite this Entry
“Suburb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suburb. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
suburb
noun
Middle English suburb "part around the outer edge of a city," from early French (same meaning), from Latin suburbium (same meaning), from sub "under, close to" and urbs "city"
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