neighbour

plural neighbours · alternative US neighbor · alternative pronunciation spelling neighba · alternative archaic neyghbour · alternative obsolete naybour · alternative obsolete neibor · alternative obsolete neibour · alternative obsolete neighbore · alternative obsolete neighboure · alternative obsolete neyghbor · alternative obsolete neyghbore · alternative obsolete neyghboure

1. UKA person living on adjacent or nearby land; a person situated adjacently or nearby; anything (of the same type of thing as the subject) in an adjacent or nearby position.

   My neighbour has two noisy cats.

   5 more examples

   They′re our neighbours across the street.

   1660, Hugh Peters, The Tales and Jests of Mr. Hugh Peters, reprinted 1807, page 10, Being at his own house in the country, when a great tempest of wind rose, he takes an occasion to visit a neighbour by him, and being somewhat merily disposed, quoth he Oh neighbour, did you not see what a wind there was the other day?

   Undine at length shrank back with an unrecognizing face; but her movement made her opera-glass slip to the floor, and her neighbour bent down and picked it up.

   1913, Edith Wharton, The Custom of the Country, published 2010, unnumbered page

   Neighbours enact their substantive noun when there′s a neighbour′s sickness in the night; as friends do theirs, the cindered and the green times through.

   1973, Ernest Buckler, Nova Scotia: Window on the Sea, page 126

   Of Stanford himself, an Antiguan neighbour once remarked to this newspaper: "He is either one of the world's greatest philanthropists or one of its biggest crooks."

   2009 February 21, Marina Hyde, “Thanks for the philanthropy, billionaires. Now pay your tax”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 01 Aug 2023

2. UKOne who is near in sympathy or confidence.

   Buckingham / No more shall be the neighbour to my counsel.

   c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]

3. UKbiblicalA fellow human being.

   1982, Bible (NKJV), Leviticus 19:18, You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

4. UKAnything located directly adjacent to something else.

   The flood fill algorithm fills an area with colour by starting at one pixel and recursively visiting its neighbours.

present singular third person neighbours · participle present neighbouring · participle past neighboured · past neighboured · alternative US neighbor · alternative pronunciation spelling neighba · alternative archaic neyghbour · alternative obsolete naybour · alternative obsolete neibor · alternative obsolete neibour · alternative obsolete neighbore · alternative obsolete neighboure · alternative obsolete neyghbor · alternative obsolete neyghbore · alternative obsolete neyghboure

1. UKtransitiveTo be adjacent to

   Though France neighbours Germany, its culture is significantly different.

   3 more examples

   Theſe grow at the South end of the Iland, and on the leiſurely aſcending hills that neighbour the ſhore.

   1615, George Sandys, “The First Booke”, in The Relation of a Iourney Begun An: Dom: 1610. […], London: […] [Richard Field] for W. Barrett, →OCLC, page 12

   […] who neighbourest the rock-born rill, / Thou Hermes!

   [1864], “Dedicatory and Votive”, in Robert Guthrie MacGregor, transl., Greek Anthology, with Notes Critical and Explanatory, London: Nissen & Parker, […], →OCLC, page 252

   OUR GOD, we bless Thee that Thy rainbow is on the cloud. […] Such things are too high. We can not attain unto them. But no matter. We catch the many lights the rainbow wears. Thou neighborest with our cloud.

   [1913], William A[lfred] Quayle, “Thy Rainbow Is on the Cloud”, in The Climb to God: Being a Collection of Pulpit and Private Prayers Which Are Meant to Gird the Spiritual Life, New York, N.Y.; Cincinnati, Ohio: The Methodist Book Concern, page 157

2. UKfigurativelyintransitiveTo be similar to, to be almost the same as.

   That sort of talk is neighbouring on treason.

3. UKTo associate intimately with; to be close to.

   […] the barbarous Scythyan, […] / Shall bee as well neighbour’d, pittyed and relieued / As thou my ſometime daughter.

   c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […], published 1608, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]