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

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

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 of neighborhood

• vicinity
• tune

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

In September, Wien and her husband drove to the Millers' North Arlington neighborhood and dropped manila envelopes stuffed with printouts near people's front doors. —Arkansas Online, 22 Mar. 2026

Late Thursday night into early Friday morning, residents in several neighborhoods in Havana took to the streets, banging pots and pans and, in some cases, lighting bonfires to block major roads in the capital — a sign of escalating frustration. —Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 21 Mar. 2026

On streets tucked behind brick walls and wooden fences near The Shops at Willow Bend, the last traditional mall built in Texas, big boxy homes fill the mazelike streets in neighborhoods with names like Wyndham Hill and Glen Meadows. —Lilly Kersh, Dallas Morning News, 21 Mar. 2026

Coro immigrated to the United States nearly 30 years ago from Santa Fe, a neighborhood in Havana. —Isabel Rosales, CNN Money, 21 Mar. 2026

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