neighbor

especially British, neigh·bour

[ney-ber]

noun

1. a person who lives near another.

   My next door neighbor has an orange cat.

2. a person or thing that is near another.

3. one's fellow human being.

   You must be generous toward your less fortunate neighbors.

4. a person who shows kindliness or helpfulness toward others.

   She's always a neighbor to people in distress.

5. (used as a term of address, especially as a friendly greeting to a stranger).

   Tell me, neighbor, which way to town?

adjective

1. situated or living near another.

   One of our neighbor nations is in need of aid.

verb (used with object)

1. to live or be situated near to; adjoin; border on.

   Germany neighbors Denmark.

2. to place or bring near.

verb (used without object)

1. to live or be situated nearby.

2. to associate with or as if with one's neighbors; be neighborly or friendly (often followed bywith ).

Other Word Forms

• neighborless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of neighbor¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English neahgebūr, nēahbūr ( nēah nigh + (ge)būr “farmer”; Boer, boor ); akin to Dutch nabuur, German Nachbar, Old Norse nābūi

Example Sentences

The musical numbers are more elaborate than karaoke acts, but the volume is contained in deference to the Getty Villa’s neighbors, draining the staging of some of its theatrical power.

From Los Angeles Times

The earl is shocked to discover that the family would have neighbors and that he’d have to “go along” the hallway to bed rather than ascend the stairs as he would in a grand home.

From Los Angeles Times

Taccone said that he borrowed ladders, including one that his neighbor described as “bad.”

From Los Angeles Times

Ned may be driven by an outdated sense of devotion to yesterday’s journalism, when reporters attended local government meetings and exposed malfeasance about which his neighbors would otherwise be ignorant.

From Salon

“They do not want peaceful neighbors ripped out of schools, ripped out of hospitals, ripped out of their workplaces.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• acquaintance 
• friend 

When To Use

Spelling tips for neighbor

The word neighbor is hard to spell because it is spelled differently from the way it is pronounced [ ney-ber ]. To make it even more confusing, neighbor is the American English spelling of the word. In British English, it is spelled with a u: neighbour. How to spell neighbor: The easiest way to remember how to spell neighbor is with the classic mnemonic device: I before E, except after C, except when it's EIGH [ ey ], as in neighbor or weigh.