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environs

American  
[en-vahy-ruhnz, -vahy-ernz, en-ver-uhnz, -vahy-ernz] / ɛnˈvaɪ rənz, -ˈvaɪ ərnz, ˈɛn vər ənz, -vaɪ ərnz /

plural noun

  1. the surrounding parts or districts, as of a city; outskirts; suburbs.

  2. surrounding objects; surroundings; environment.

  3. an area or space close by; vicinity.

environs British  
/ ɪnˈvaɪrənz /

plural noun

  1. a surrounding area or region, esp the suburbs or outskirts of a town or city; vicinity

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of environs

1655–65; < French (plural); replacing Middle English environ < Old French, noun use of environ around; environ

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He masterminded “Hopscotch,” the opera presented throughout downtown L.A. and environs, with the audience riding in limousines.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Today, the Sudanese transport company Tarco operates daily crossings, carrying around 200 passengers per trip from the modern port of Suakin, within sight of the ancient city and its impoverished environs.

From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026

The union said the media workers were detained by Venezuelan security forces at the National Assembly and its environs, and in the neighbourhood of Altamira - all in the capital, Caracas.

From BBC • Jan. 6, 2026

Thirty years earlier, scientific assessments had estimated that Prague and its environs had two German-speakers for every Czech-speaker.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025

By the 1960s, two enormous developments had taken place in Korea and its environs.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.