SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

the suburbs

Definition of the suburbs

: towns or other areas where people live in houses near a larger city the suburbs of Chicago; also : one of the suburbs of a city She left the city and moved to the suburbs.

Word by Word Definitions

suburbplay suburbs

: an outlying part of a city or town
: a smaller community adjacent to or within commuting distance of a city
: the residential area on the outskirts of a city or large town

See the full definition of suburb

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up the suburbs? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

perfunctory

play

done merely as a duty

Words at Play

Food Words for Strong Flavors

A tasting menu of vivid flavor descriptions

alt-5993066a3afad

What's the Plural of 'Maitre d''?

Use this word to confuse a French speaker.

alt-598dca6eb95f8

Running After the History of 'Lackey'

Are lackeys lacking something?

alt-5991b04e3d7ac

The Difference Between 'Patriotism' and 'Nationalism'

They're often not synonyms

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066

Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless

Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals

Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz

Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz

Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz

Citation

Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?

Play the game