urban
urb·an/ˈɝ.bən/adjective
urban is spelled U-R-B-A-N: 5 letters and 2 syllables (urb·an). It appears 45 times per million words in written English, the 2,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Urban, the name). People search “urban vs urbane” about 40 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, urban means “Of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or happening or located in, a city or town; of, pertaining to, or characteristic of life in such a place…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in urban?
| Letters | 5: U-R-B-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: urb·an |
| In writing | 45 times per million words; the 2,253rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is urban?
Urban appears 45 times per million words in written English, the 2,253rd most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Urban, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce urban?
- UK /ˈɜː.bən/
- US /ˈɝ.bən/
- Australia /œˈː.bən/
Urban has 2 syllables, split urb·an in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-urban.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with urban
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: urbane.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with urban?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as urban from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹbən/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: unbar.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of urban
- more urban comparative
- most urban superlative
- urbane
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does urban mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or happening or located in, a city or town; of, pertaining to, or characteristic of life in such a place, especially when contrasted with the countryside.
urban life
- 2
Living in a city or town.
- 3
Having authority or jurisdiction over a city or town.
- 4
USarchaicproscribedRelating to contemporary African American culture, especially in music.
- 5
UKUSoffensiveOf an inhabitant or resident: black; African-American.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Urban in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or happening or located in, a city or town:
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.