What does neighbourly mean?
Word: Neighbourly
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Neighbourly means kind and helpful towards the people who live near you.
Synonyms: helpful, kind
How do you spell neighbourly?
Syllables: neigh - bour - ly
Tricky part: The ay sound after the n is spelt eigh, as in eight and weigh. Many pupils start the word with nie or nay instead.
Watch out for: nieghbourly, naybourly
Memory tip: A horse next door might neigh over the fence: the first five letters spell that horse sound.
Neighbourly in a sentence
Example 1: Mrs Fernandes was very neighbourly and watered our plants while we were away.
Example 2: Leo gave a neighbourly wave to the man mowing the lawn next door.
Example 3: Our street has a neighbourly feel, and people chat over their garden walls in the evening.
Fun Fact
Its root goes back to Old English, where two parts meaning 'near' and 'dweller' were joined, so the first sense was simply someone who lived close by.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
neighbourly
a) unfriendly
b) polite
c) welcoming
d) generous
Show answer
a) unfriendly. Someone unfriendly keeps away from the people nearby, which is the opposite of what the word describes.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) furniture
b) neighbourly
c) daughter
d) knowlege
Show answer
d) knowlege. Knowledge hides a silent d just before its ge, so a d is missing here.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
neighb_u_ly
a) o, r
b) o, l
c) a, r
d) e, r
Show answer
a) o, r. An o goes before the u and an r after it, so this part reads bour.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which act would people call neighbourly?
a) throwing garden leaves over the fence
b) parking a car across the gate of the house opposite
c) carrying in parcels for the family next door
d) practising the drums on the roof at midnight
Show answer
c) carrying in parcels for the family next door
2. Emma's new block of flats is a neighbourly place. What is she most likely to find there?
a) rooms with large windows facing east
b) people who greet her and offer to help
c) a lift that often stops between floors
d) a car park with very few spaces left
Show answer
b) people who greet her and offer to help
