ENGLISH
REFERENCE

suburbia

n. uncountable
B2 Upper Intermediate US //səˈbɝbiə// UK //sʌbˈɜːbiə// sub·ur·bia

n. the area of land and houses that surround a city. It is usually quieter and has more space for gardens than the city center.

n. the residential areas that lie on the outskirts of a city. Often used to describe a specific social or cultural environment characterized by detached housing and a car-dependent lifestyle.


SIMPLE

Many families move to suburbia to find a bigger house.

CONTEXTUAL

After working in the crowded city center all week, he looked forward to the quiet of suburbia on the weekends.

COMPLEX

The rapid expansion of suburbia during the mid-twentieth century fundamentally altered the urban landscape, shifting the economic and social gravity of the metropolis toward its periphery.

Synonyms
Origin

PIE word *upó From suburb + -ia (suffix forming abstract nouns, the names of collections of things, etc.), perhaps modelled after Latin suburbia (“suburbs”), the plural of suburbium.

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