collocation · neutral

suburban area

UK/səˈbɜːbən ˈeəriə/US/səˈbɜːrbən ˈɛriə/su·BUR·ban ARea

Band 4-5speakingtask2

A residential area on the edge of a city, less busy than the centre.

Examples

They bought a house in a quiet suburban area outside the city.

Commuters often live in suburban areas and travel to the city for work.

Suburban areas usually have more green space than the city centre.

Band 8 sentence

Many families choose a suburban area for the combination of lower rents and better quality schools.

Collocations

  • living in a suburban area
  • move to a suburban area

Word family

suburb nounsuburban adjective

Common mistakes

in suburban areain a suburban area

suburban placesuburban area

Say it for a higher band

5outskirts6suburb7+suburban area

Synonyms

outskirts

Easily confused

outskirts

The factory is located on the outskirts of the town.

suburb

She grew up in a suburb and now lives in the city centre.

Related words

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In Hometown & Housing

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