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residential area

residential area

16 2.1
Part of a town where people live in houses or apartments
  • noun
  • /ˌrɛzɪˈdɛnʃəl ˈɛəriə/
translation icon : zona residencial
  • Its central and eastern sections are two of the fastest-growing residential areas in the entire Bay Area.
  • industrial and residential area
  • mixed residential area
  • nearby residential areas

Sharp signs in Korean tell of new waves of immigrants that mostly the replace the now well off Jews who moved off to better residential areas.

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Examples

  • A total of four apartment complexes and two separate residential areas were included in the study.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Then we were speeding through residential areas on the outskirts of the city.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • This is a residential area.

  • The main residential area is here.

  • "Then you know this is one of the best residential areas of the city.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • In total, only about 15 percent of the residential area is accessible and has infrastructure.

    Academic text (1992)
  • I thought you might be interested in a typical Berlin residential area.

  • They drove into a new residential area, and waited.

  • The applicant's mixed-use plan with pedestrian connections between the retail and residential areas should encourage this.

    Academic text (2008)
  • The new park in the residential area serves as a great space for families to relax.

Synonyms

neighborhood
vsresidential area
  • US
1.8

An area in a town or city where people live near each other

focuses on land use rather than community closeness
residential district
vsresidential area
1 3.1

An area of a town or city with mostly houses and apartments

is the general term for that kind of area

Antonyms

11 3.8

An area of land near a city with many factories and large businesses

How Residential

housing estate
  • UK
1 3.0
residential area
16 2.1
addition
  • Archaic
9 5.3
commercial
491 3.4
industrial park
  • US
11 3.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

residential + area

The meaning ‘a part of a city or town where people live’ is directly and transparently composed from 'residential' (related to residences) + 'area' (a region or part of a place). This adjectival + noun pattern is predictable and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Residential area uses residential meaning 'where people live' and area meaning 'a part of a place', so imagine a quiet part of town with houses and apartments instead of shops or factories. That's why residential area means a part of a city mainly for 'homes' and the people who live there.