prepositional phrase · neutral
on the outskirts (of)
UK/ɒn ði ˈaʊtskɜːts/US/ɑn ði ˈaʊtskɝts/on the OUT·skirts
Located on the outer edge of a town or city, outside the main built-up area.
Examples
“They bought a house on the outskirts of the city to escape the noise.”
“There are several new parks on the outskirts where families go at weekends.”
“The factory is on the outskirts, next to open fields.”
Band 8 sentence
“Although the house is on the outskirts of the city, excellent transport links make commuting to the centre straightforward.”
Collocations
- live on the outskirts (of)
- on the outskirts of town/city
- located on the outskirts
Word family
Common mistakes
in the outskirts→on the outskirts
on the outskirt→on the outskirts
Say it for a higher band
5far from the centre→6in the suburbs→7+on the outskirts (of)
Synonyms
the suburbs
the edge of town
Easily confused
suburbs
“Many families prefer living in the suburbs for larger gardens.”
Related words
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