neighbour

neighbour — noun

1. someone whose home is near your home, for instance in the same street or in the

1.nounA2
Definition

someone whose home is near your home, for instance in the same street or in the flat next door

Example

Our new neighbour brought us a plate of homemade cookies on moving day.

collocation: new neighbour / next-door neighbour

Bilal asked his neighbour to collect the post while he was away on holiday.

pattern: asked + neighbour + to-infinitive

Common collocations
  • good neighbour
  • next-door neighbour
  • neighbour's cat/dog
  • neighbour complained
  • neighbour helps
  • new neighbour
  • neighbour across the street
  • neighbour upstairs/downstairs
Synonyms
  • next-door neighbour

    specifically the person living in the house or flat immediately next to yours

  • resident

    anyone who lives in a particular place, not necessarily near you — broader and more formal

  • local

    informal term for someone who lives in the area, used especially by other people from the same area

Antonyms
  • stranger

    someone you do not know, who may live far away or nearby but not connected to you

  • outsider

    someone who does not belong to the community or area

Usage Note

The spelling 'neighbour' is used in British English; American English uses 'neighbor'. The word is most commonly used in everyday talk about people living nearby.

Common Mistakes

My neighbour hood is very quiet.
My neighbourhood is very quiet.
'neighbourhood' (with 'hood') means the area; 'neighbour' means the person.

2. a country whose land touches or lies very close to the land of another country

2.nounB1
Definition

a country whose land touches or lies very close to the land of another country

Example

Canada is a neighbour of the United States to the north.

pattern: is a neighbour of + country

The two neighbours have shared a peaceful border for over sixty years.

Common collocations
  • northern neighbour
  • southern neighbour
  • eastern neighbour
  • western neighbour
  • neighbour shares a border
  • neighbouring state
Synonyms
Antonyms

Usage Note

This sense is used mainly in geography, politics, or international relations. The phrase 'neighbouring country' (adjective form) is more common than the noun form in some contexts.

Common Mistakes

Switzerland neighbours all around by other countries.
Switzerland is surrounded by neighbouring countries.
use the adjective 'neighbouring' or the verb 'neighbour on' for describing geographical position.

neighbour — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Neighbour refers specifically to someone whose home is close to yours — it is about proximity, not just location. A resident lives somewhere (a city, a building) but may live blocks away; an inhabitant is even more formal and usually describes the people of a whole region or planet. Local is an informal word for someone from the area, often used by visitors: 'ask a local for directions.' Next-door neighbour is the most specific — the person in the property immediately beside yours. Example: 'Bilal waved to his next-door neighbour, then asked a local where the nearest bank was, since he was not a long-term resident of the city.'

neighbour ↗resident ↗inhabitant ↗local ↗next-door neighbour

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • next door neighbour
  • good neighbour
  • neighbour across the street
  • neighbour to the north/south

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

From Old English 'nēah' (near) combined with 'gebūr' (dweller, farmer), forming a word that literally meant 'near-dweller.' Through Middle English 'neighebor' it evolved into modern 'neighbour.' The same roots gave German 'Nachbar' and Dutch 'nabuur.' The American spelling 'neighbor' dropped the 'u' in the 19th century.