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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 urban in a Sentence
Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 9 Apr. 2026
The founders traded urban life for desert life, finding success by prioritizing community.
—Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Women who have a high concentration of ultraprocessed foods in their diet were more than twice as likely to add salt to food, as were those living in urban areas.
—Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2026
For example, for animals that have evolved to breed at a specific time of the year, urban heat islands can select for earlier breeding.
—Daniel T. Blumstein, The Conversation, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for urban
Cite this Entry
“Urban.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/urban. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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urban
adjective
