a small community or group of houses in a rural area, larger than a hamlet and usually smaller than a town, and sometimes (as in parts of the U.S.) incorporated as a municipality.
the inhabitants of such a community collectively.
a group of animal dwellings resembling a village.
a gopher village.
a small group of houses in a country area, larger than a hamlet
the inhabitants of such a community collectively
an incorporated municipality smaller than a town in various parts of the US and Canada
a group of habitats of certain animals
a self-contained city area having its own shops, etc
(modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of a village
a village green
See community.
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin villāticum, neuter of villāticus villatic
A village is a place where people live that's smaller than a city or town. The village where your grandparents live might have a population of only a few hundred people. In the US, some towns, townships, and cities have smaller villages communities within them. There are also villages that are independent of any larger areas. In either case, a village is typically larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town. The majority of Indians live in villages, while in other countries (like Russia and the UK) population has moved to big cities and suburbs, away from traditional villages. The Latin source of village is villa, or "farm."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
From the village of Malham we hiked to Malham Cove, which rose in near miraculous silver splendor among the sylvan greenery, and then ascended the nearly 500 steps to its top.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
Arab Salim is a village of narrow alleys surrounded by lush hills.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
Researchers also collected air samples in Cabauw, a small rural village in the Netherlands, where concentrations reached 2 nanograms per cubic meter.
From Science Daily • May 13, 2026
He was falsely accused of inciting forceful conversions after attending a village prayer meeting in a church member’s home.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
I mean, it’s not my fault, growing up in the middle of Nowhere, Alaska, in a village of about a hundred people, give or take.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
