urban

[ ur-buhn ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating a city or town:

   densely populated urban areas.

2. living, located, or taking place in a city:

   urban rooftop gardening.

3. characteristic of or accustomed to cities; citified:

   He’s an urban type—I can’t picture him enjoying a whole week at our cabin in the woods.

4. of or relating to the experience, lifestyle, or culture of African Americans living in economically depressed inner-city neighborhoods:

   Their first album had a hard, urban vibe.

5. Offensive. (used as a euphemism for Black or African American, rather than in reference to cities or their residents):

   a drug problem that particularly impacts the urban residents in this small town.

urban

/ ˈɜːbən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or constituting a city or town
2. living in a city or town
3. (of music) emerging and developing in densely populated areas of large cities, esp those populated by people of African or Caribbean origin Compare rural

Other Words From

• anti·urban adjective
• non·urban adjective
• semi·urban adjective
• un·urban adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of urban¹

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin urbānus, equivalent to urb- (stem of urbs ) “city” + -ānus adjective suffix; -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of urban¹

C17: from Latin urbānus, from urbs city

Example Sentences

“Urban sprawl creates inefficient cities which unnecessarily destroys millions of acres of land,” he continued.

From Salon

That flash point foretells an America becoming more polarized the hotter things get, more sharply divided between its rural and urban communities and more hateful and more dangerous.

From Salon

However, at Trump’s urging, congressional representatives could earmark local transportation projects to the benefit of Boring Co., though the company would still have to compete to win them, said Greg Griffin, a former urban planning professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, who studied that city’s proposed Boring Co. project.

From Los Angeles Times

The Byrds, the Bakersfield sound and California country and country-rock traditions are what lured Yoakam to Los Angeles in the late 1970s as the so-called urban cowboy movement took hold in Nashville.

From Los Angeles Times

Yet as urban and suburban sprawl continues to push communities further into fire-prone landscapes and climate change continues to worsen blazes, scientists and fire experts are fiercely debating what control homeowners really have over whether their home survives — or if it simply comes down to chance.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• civic
• civil
• downtown
• metropolitan