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The Suburbs vs. the Urbs
Given that most of the common words in our language beginning sub- tend to have meanings concerned with “beneath” (as in subterranean and submarine) or “less than” (as with subpar), you would be forgiven for assuming that the suburbs were so named because of their location below, or their status as less than, their urban counterparts. Not so, however: sub- may have other meanings at the beginning of a word; in this case, it indicates not depth or inferiority, but proximity. In other words, the suburbs are a region close to the urbs.
Is urbs an English word? Yes; it is rarely used, but it refers typically to a city, particularly when distinguished from a suburb.
Examples of suburb in a Sentence
Toria Sheffield, People.com, 20 Jan. 2025
What To Know Biden currently owns two homes in Delaware: his primary residence in the Wilmington suburb of Greenville and a vacation home in Rehoboth Beach.
—Justin Gest, Newsweek, 20 Jan. 2025
Their home had been purchased in the 1960s by Denise's parents, part of a growing influx of African American home and business owners who found acceptance and affordability in the hillside suburb, making it among Los Angeles County's first Black middle class havens.
—Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 18 Jan. 2025
The discovery began when a security guard for a homeowners association in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables reported seeing an abduction around 9:35 a.m., Coral Gables Police Chief Edward James Hudak Jr. told reporters.
—Louis Casiano, Fox News, 17 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for suburb 
Dictionary Entries Near suburb
Cite this Entry
“Suburb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suburb. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
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suburb
noun
Middle English suburb "part around the outer edge of a city," from early French (same meaning), from Latin suburbium (same meaning), from sub "under, close to" and urbs "city"
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