suburban
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.relating to the areas where people live that are just outside a city center.
adj.situated in or characteristic of a suburb; relating to the residential outskirts of a metropolitan area.
Simple“They decided to move to a suburban neighborhood to have more space for the children.”
In context“The rapid expansion of suburban developments has led to increased traffic congestion on the main arteries leading into the city center.”
SynonymsAntonymsurbaninner city - 02 C2 Proficiency
n.a person who lives in a suburb.
n.a resident of a suburb; a person whose lifestyle and values are associated with suburban living.
Simple“The local council held a meeting to hear the concerns of the suburbans regarding the new park.”
In context“As a lifelong suburban, she found the constant noise and frantic pace of the capital city quite overwhelming.”
Synonymsresidentsuburbanite - 03 C1 Advanced
n.a large vehicle, like a truck, that has a long body for carrying many passengers.
n.a large sport utility vehicle or station wagon built on a truck chassis, designed for high passenger and cargo capacity.
Simple“The family loaded their camping gear into the back of the suburban and headed for the mountains.”
In context“The heavy-duty suburban proved essential for transporting the entire research team and their equipment across the rugged terrain.”
SynonymsSUVstation wagon
“Sleazeball French modelling scout Daniel Siad was – naturally – discovered dead in his suburban Paris home by a young female guest.”
“It’s great for light errand-running, and it’s fantastic if you live where it gets uncomfortably hot for part of the year, letting you avoid using a car in urban and suburban areas.”
From Latin suburbanus, from prefix sub- (“under”) + urbs (“city”) + -anus (“adjective suffix”), equivalent to sub- + urban.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.