suburb
/ˈsʌbɝb/noun
suburb is spelled S-U-B-U-R-B: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, suburb means “A residential area located on the outskirts of a city or large town that usually includes businesses that cater to its residents; such as schools…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of suburb is suburbs.
How many letters and syllables are in suburb?
| Letters | 6: S-U-B-U-R-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.5 times per million words; the 9,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is suburb?
Suburb appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce suburb?
- US /ˈsʌbɝb/
- UK /ˈsʌbɜːb/
Suburb has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-suburb.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of suburb
- suburbs plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does suburb mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A residential area located on the outskirts of a city or large town that usually includes businesses that cater to its residents; such as schools, grocery stores, shopping centers, restaurants, convenience stores, etc.
- 2
The outer part; the environment.
- 3
AustraliaIrelandUKAny subdivision of a conurbation, not necessarily on the periphery.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Suburb in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | banlieue, faubourg , arrondissement |
| German | Vorstadt, Vorort , Stadtteil, Bezirk, Stadtbezirk |
| Portuguese | periferia, subúrbio , freguesia |
| Spanish | afueras, arrabal, suburbio, extrarradio , barrio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does suburb come from?
From Old French suburbe, subburbe, from Latin suburbium (from sub- (“under-”) + urbs (“city”)). Displaced native Old English underburg (literally “underborough”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).