suburban meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

suburban

adj

/səˈbɜː(ɹ)bən/

Etymology From Latin suburbanus, from prefix sub- (“under”) + urbs (“city”) + -anus (“adjective suffix”), equivalent to sub- + urban.

Relating to or characteristic of or situated on the outskirts of a city; of or relating to suburbia or the suburbs.

Suburban villas, highway-ſide retreats, / That dread th' encroachment of our growing ſtreets, / Tight boxes, neatly ſaſh'd, and in a blaze / With all a July ſun's collected rays, / Delight the citizen, who gaſping there, / Breathes clouds of duſt and calls it country air.1782, William Cowper, “Retirement”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 282:
Not only has suburban life separated the great concentrated masses of our people from their birthright of meadows, fields and woods; of Nature, in her untamed splendour and mystery, most of them have never had so much as a momentary glimpse.1922, Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, The Old English Herbals, London: Longmans, Green and Co., page 13:

2 more examples

They form part of the vast electrification and reconstruction schemes which have been in hand for a number of years at Liverpool Street, and in suburban Essex, and include the rearrangement of tracks, of which the Ilford flyover forms part; the modern signal boxes, now needed only at key points; the electric control or sub-stations; and a large electric car shed.1951 January, R. A. H. Weight, “A Railway Recorder in Essex and Hertfordshire”, in Railway Magazine, page 44:
Tiffany Henyard’s tumultuous tenure as mayor of south suburban Dolton is coming to an end, and voters were very clear about ousting her.2025 February 25, Gabriel Castillo, Jenna Barnes, Ben Bradley, Michael Johnson, Erik Runge, “Defeated in Dolton: Trustee Jason House beats incumbent Mayor Tiffany Henyard by landslide in primary”, in WGN-TV, archived from the original on 27 Feb 2025:

Antonyms: nonsuburban
Derived terms: cyburban, presuburban, semisuburban, suburbandom, suburbanhood, suburbanise, suburbanism, suburbanite, suburbanitis, suburbanity, suburbanize, suburbanly, suburbanness, suburban sprawl, surburbanite, unsuburban

noun

Etymology From Latin suburbanus, from prefix sub- (“under”) + urbs (“city”) + -anus (“adjective suffix”), equivalent to sub- + urban.

A person who lives in a suburb.

An automobile with a station wagon body on a truck chassis.