urban
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or designating a city or town.
densely populated urban areas.
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living, located, or taking place in a city.
urban rooftop gardening.
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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.
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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.
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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.
adjective
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of, relating to, or constituting a city or town
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living in a city or town
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(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 Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of urban
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin urbānus, equivalent to urb- (stem of urbs ) “city” + -ānus adjective suffix; see -an
Explanation
Use the adjective urban to refer to cities or people who live in cities. It carries a suggestion of grittiness––urban style involves darker colors. The terms city and town are sometimes used inconsistently. If it is large enough, a town is considered to be an urban area. Communities where people live outside cities are called suburban. Urban is from a Latin adjective formed from urbs "city."
Vocabulary lists containing urban
Donald Trump Inauguration Address- January 20, 2017
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East Asia - Middle School
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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.
Hikers and urban walkers are wearing them on socks and jacket collars; parents are tacking them onto kids’ hats and backpacks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
“Indeed, overall, rural life expectancies are lower than for urban areas. Rates of smoking, obesity and chronic conditions such as high blood pressure are higher in rural communities.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
"Relocation disconnects them from both jobs and networks, resulting in livelihood and income loss," urban researcher Mukta Naik told the BBC.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
“They are armed with high caliber weapons and operate largely within an urban context,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
The blue-collar factory jobs that had been plentiful in urban areas in the 1950s and 1960s had suddenly disappeared.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
