suburb
gb/sˈʌbɚb/ us/sˈʌbɚb/
B1
English
~ 6300
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B1
entity
1
area just outside a city
A place where people live that is just outside a big town or city, but still close to it.
Usage pattern:
a suburb of [a city]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say *"I live in a suburb of city"* without *"the"* before the city name. The natural pattern is *"a suburb of London"*, *"a suburb of Tokyo"*. Another confusion is using *"village"* or *"town"* instead of *"suburb"; a suburb is usually part of a larger city, not a separate town.
Synonyms
residential area (Broader; can be anywhere people live, not only at the edge of a city.)
|
outlying district (More formal; emphasizes being away from the center of the city.)
Antonyms
city center (Refers to the central part of a city, the opposite of an outer residential district.)
Collocations
a suburb of [London]
|quiet suburb
|leafy suburb
|wealthy suburb
|inner suburb
|outer suburb
Themes
geography
|housing
|daily life
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- They bought a house in a suburb of Paris to escape the noise of the city center.
- This suburb has its own schools, parks, and shopping streets.
- The new train line connects the northern suburbs with the downtown business district.
- He grew up in a quiet suburb about twenty minutes from the city by car.
- Many tech workers now live in suburbs that used to be small villages.
Learner examples
- My aunt lives in a suburb of Sydney.
- We moved to a small suburb near the capital.
- This suburb is very quiet at night.
- There is a big park in our suburb.
- The bus from the suburb goes to the city every 15 minutes.
Noun
B1
entity
2
outer residential districts collectively
The parts around a city where many people live in houses, not in the busy center; usually said as “the suburbs.”
Usage pattern:
[someone] lives in the suburbs
Common mistake:
Learners often say *"I live in a suburbs"* or *"I live in suburb". Use *"the suburbs"* with no article before *suburbs*: *"I live in the suburbs"*. Use singular *"a suburb"* only with a city name: *"I live in a suburb of Milan."*
Synonyms
suburbia (A collective, often slightly informal word; can suggest a particular lifestyle or culture of the suburbs.)
|
residential outskirts (More descriptive; highlights being at the edge of a city rather than the lifestyle.)
Antonyms
the city (Refers to the main urban area, often the busy center, contrasting with the quieter outer residential zones.)
Collocations
live in the suburbs
|grow up in the suburbs
|move to the suburbs
|commute from the suburbs
|the suburbs of [Chicago]
Themes
geography
|housing
|daily life
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- After their second child was born, they left the city and moved to the suburbs.
- She commutes from the suburbs to her office downtown every day.
- Many people prefer raising children in the suburbs rather than in the city center.
- House prices in the suburbs have risen faster than in the inner city.
- He spent his childhood in the suburbs of Los Angeles before moving abroad.
Learner examples
- We live in the suburbs and take the train to work.
- My children grew up in the suburbs of the city.
- Many families move to the suburbs for bigger houses.
- People in the suburbs often drive to the city.
- The suburbs are quieter than the city center.
Grammar
Dictionary form
suburb
IPA
GB/sˈʌbɚb/
US/sˈʌbɚb/
Syllables & stress
sub - urb (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (sub)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: suburb
- Plural: suburbs
Word family
Expressions
commute from the suburbs
1/kəmjˈut fɹˈʌm ðə sˈʌbɚbz/
fixed phrase
travel daily from suburbs to city
To travel every day from the areas around a city to the city for work or school.
Examples
- She commutes from the suburbs to her office downtown every morning.
- Thousands of people commute from the suburbs by train each day.
in the suburbs
1/ˈɪn ðə sˈʌbɚbz/
fixed phrase
located in outer residential areas
In the parts around a city where many people live in houses, not in the busy center.
Examples
- They live in the suburbs but work in the city center.
- Schools in the suburbs are often larger than those in rural areas.
live in the suburbs
1/lˈɪv ˈɪn ðə sˈʌbɚbz/
fixed phrase
have a home in the suburbs
To have your home in the areas around a city where many people live, not in the city center.
Examples
- We used to live downtown, but now we live in the suburbs.
- A lot of young families choose to live in the suburbs for more space.
move to the suburbs
1/mˈuv tə ðə sˈʌbɚbz/
fixed phrase
relocate to outer residential areas
To change your home and start living in the areas around a city instead of in the center.
Examples
- They decided to move to the suburbs when their first child was born.
- Many people moved to the suburbs during the pandemic.
the suburbs of [a city]
1/ðə sˈʌbɚbz əv ə sˈɪti/
fixed phrase
outer residential areas of a city
The parts around a named city where many people live in houses, not in the center.
Examples
- He spent his childhood in the suburbs of Madrid.
- Traffic is heavy in the suburbs of the capital every morning.