neighbor

[ ney-ber ]

noun

1. a person who lives near another:

   My next door neighbor has an orange cat.

2. a person or thing that is near another.
3. one's fellow human being:

   You must be generous toward your less fortunate neighbors.

4. a person who shows kindliness or helpfulness toward others:

   She's always a neighbor to people in distress.

5. (used as a term of address, especially as a friendly greeting to a stranger):

   Tell me, neighbor, which way to town?

adjective

1. situated or living near another:

   One of our neighbor nations is in need of aid.

verb (used with object)

1. to live or be situated near to; adjoin; border on:

   Germany neighbors Denmark.

2. to place or bring near.

verb (used without object)

1. to live or be situated nearby.
2. to associate with or as if with one's neighbors; be neighborly or friendly (often followed by with ).

Other Words From

• neighbor·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of neighbor¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English neahgebūr, nēahbūr ( nēah nigh + (ge)būr “farmer”; Boer, boor ); akin to Dutch nabuur, German Nachbar, Old Norse nābūi

Example Sentences

In addition, this community-led urban transformation project spread to neighboring areas.

From Science Daily

But where she lost her sense of safety, she and her neighbors reinforced their sense of solidarity through simple yet heroic acts of caring.

From Los Angeles Times

Previously a component could usually interact only with its immediate neighbors.

From Science Daily

The researchers made use of this fact: They compared several hundred municipalities on the biome border with neighboring regions that lay outside of this border and to which the three measures did not, therefore, apply.

From Science Daily

How will they respond when they see the rights and freedoms of their family members, friends, neighbors and other members of the community being taken away?

From Salon

Related Words

• acquaintance
• friend

How Do You Spell Neighbor?

Spelling tips for neighbor

The word neighbor is hard to spell because it is spelled differently from the way it is pronounced [ ney-ber ]. To make it even more confusing, neighbor is the American English spelling of the word. In British English, it is spelled with a u: neighbour. 

How to spell neighbor: The easiest way to remember how to spell neighbor is with the classic mnemonic device: I before E, except after C, except when it’s EIGH [ ey ], as in neighbor or weigh.