urban

urban — adjective

1. relating to towns and cities, especially the buildings, roads, and busy atmosphe

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

relating to towns and cities, especially the buildings, roads, and busy atmosphere that make them different from the countryside

Example

Trang moved from a small village to an urban area for better job opportunities.

collocation: urban area

Urban planners in Hoa's city designed new parks to ease traffic congestion.

collocation: urban planner

Common collocations
  • urban area
  • urban development
  • urban planning
  • urban population
  • urban life
  • urban environment
  • urban sprawl
Synonyms
  • city

    more informal and refers to a specific settlement; 'urban' is broader and more formal

  • metropolitan

    more formal, usually describes a large city and its surrounding suburbs

  • municipal

    relates specifically to the local government and services of a city

Antonyms
  • rural

    direct opposite; relating to the countryside

  • suburban

    describes residential areas on the edge of a city, not the dense city centre

Grammar Patterns

urban + noun

Usage Note

Typically used before a noun — 'urban area', 'urban life', 'urban development'. The direct opposite is rural.

Common Mistakes

The urban city has many tall buildings.
The city has many tall buildings.
'Urban' already means 'of a city,' so 'urban city' is repetitive.

Word family

  • urbanize
    verbC1
  • urbanization
    nounB2
  • suburban
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Urban is the broadest term, covering any town or city setting — its opposite is rural. Metropolitan is narrower, used for a large central city together with its surrounding suburbs: the New York metropolitan area includes New Jersey and Connecticut suburbs, while urban New York refers only to the built-up city districts. Municipal is the most formal and administrative, describing local-government services and property — a municipal building houses city offices, not a shopping street. City-based is informal and often temporary ('a city-based reporter'); urban is permanent and descriptive. For everyday conversation, 'urban area' and 'city centre' are the most natural collocations for learners at B1 level.

urban ↗metropolitan ↗municipal ↗city-based

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • urban and rural
  • urban versus rural

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Urban comes from the Latin word 'urbanus,' meaning 'of the city,' which itself comes from 'urbs,' the Latin word for 'city.' It entered English in the early 1600s and has kept its core meaning of 'city-related' ever since.