village

noun

vil·​lage ˈvi-lij 

often attributive

1

a

: a settlement usually larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town

b

: an incorporated minor municipality

2

: the residents of a village

3

: something (such as an aggregation of burrows or nests) suggesting a village

4

: a territorial area having the status of a village especially as a unit of local government

Synonyms

• bourg
• hamlet
• townlet
• vill
• whistle-stop

Examples of village in a Sentence

Entire villages come to see the parade.

we stayed in a charming bed-and-breakfast in a lakeside village

Recent Examples on the Web

India evacuates thousands of people from villages near the highly militarized frontier in the Kashmir region. —Riazat Butt, Chicago Tribune, 10 May 2025

Where to watch: Peacock 'The Damned' In the freaky psychological horror tale, a 19th-century widow (Odessa Young) heads up a remote fishing village in the Arctic. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 May 2025

Addressing social media use in teens will take a village, and AI could be part of but not the whole solution. —Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 10 May 2025

Jaspreet Kaur, from the border village of Ajote, said most of the 10,000 residents had fled. —Diaa Hadid, NPR, 9 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French vilage, from vil manorial estate, farmstead, from Latin villa

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing village

• global village
• inter-village
• Potemkin village

Rhymes for village

• millage
• pillage
• spillage

Kids Definition

village

noun

vil·​lage ˈvil-ij 

1

: a place somewhat smaller than a town

2

: the people living in a village