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

traveled to a place 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

lived in 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

• matter
• tune
• vicinity

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

But restaurateur Jay Shirodkar has enshrined his latest eats enterprise — Jay’s Steakhouse — in what used to be First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fort Lauderdale’s busy-buzzy Flagler Village neighborhood. —Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 10 May 2025

Concerned about neighborhood character and housing scarcity, the city nixed his demolition proposal in 2016, CNBC reported. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 9 May 2025

Amparo Wynn said her 8-year-old grandson David, a Clifford Davis Elementary student, was dropped off about a quarter mile from home on Tuesday, May 6, when a substitute bus driver left him in the incorrect neighborhood. —Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 May 2025

Mexico must do its part and stop polluting our neighborhoods. —John McCann, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2025

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