vicinity
noun
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Howdy, neighbor! Today we cozy up to vicinity, a word with neighborly origins that was welcomed into English as a French import in the 16th century from Middle French vicinité. It comes ultimately from Latin vicus, meaning "row of houses" or "village," by way of Latin vicinus, meaning "neighboring." Other descendants of vicinus in English include vicinal (a synonym of local) and vicinage, a synonym of vicinity in the sense of "a neighboring or surrounding district." Both of these are formal and rare, but vicinage is notable for giving title to the Vicinage Clause, a segment of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution that entitles an accused person to "an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law."
Examples of vicinity in a Sentence
Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 July 2025
Safonov overhits the pass — a theme throughout the game due to Bayern’s pressing — but Hakimi may have struggled anyway with Kingsley Coman in close vicinity.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 5 July 2025
The criminal complaint alleges that she was captured on surveillance footage carrying a black backpack entering the locker room area, appearing to take a photo of the vicinity, and departing without the backpack.
—Mike Brest, The Washington Examiner, 1 July 2025
In the vicinity close to the stadium, the atmosphere grew rowdier but good-natured.
—Thomas Smith, Billboard, 7 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for vicinity
Cite this Entry
“Vicinity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vicinity. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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vicinity
noun
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