vicinity
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the area near or around a particular place.
the area or region near or surrounding a particular place; often used with the preposition 'of'.
Simple“There are several good restaurants in the vicinity of the hotel.”
In context“The police searched the immediate vicinity of the crime scene for any discarded evidence that might lead to a suspect.”
UsageUsually appears in the phrase 'in the vicinity of'.
SynonymsAntonymsdistanceremoteness - 02 C1 Advanced
an amount that is close to a specific number but not exact.
an approximate amount, value, or quantity; typically used in the formal phrase 'in the vicinity of'.
Simple“The new car will cost somewhere in the vicinity of thirty thousand dollars.”
In context“The total cost of the renovation project is estimated to be in the vicinity of half a million pounds, depending on material costs.”
UsageAlmost exclusively used in the prepositional phrase 'in the vicinity of' followed by a number or value.
Synonyms
“Once she’d said goodbye, she found herself unable to leave the vicinity, so instead she decided to make friends with the security guard.”
“About 70 minutes after re-emerging, the crew witnessed something few have ever seen : a total solar eclipse from the vicinity of the moon.”
From vicine + -ity, from Latin vīcīnitās (“neighborhood”) (compare French vicinité), from vīcīnus (“neighbor”) (compare French voisin), from vīcus (“village”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.