neighbor

A neighbor is a person who lives near another person, typically in the same dwelling, street, or neighborhood. The term also extends to nearby entities such as neighboring towns or countries. In American English, "neighbor" is spelled without a u; in British English, "neighbour."

The concept encompasses social relations and mutual acquaintance, often tied to the idea of neighborliness or good neighborliness. People may exchange greetings, share information, help with tasks, or look out for each other. Proximity can foster cooperation and a sense of community.

Legal and civic aspects vary, but many communities set expectations around noise, property maintenance, trash, and nuisance. Neighbors may resolve disputes informally or through local mediation, and governments may regulate boundaries, easements, and building codes that affect adjacent properties.

In culture and literature, neighbors appear in sayings like "good fences make good neighbors" and various moral anecdotes about aid and conflict in communities. In urban planning, the concept of the neighbor relates to the design of walkable, connected, and inclusive neighborhoods.

In other domains, "neighbor" is used in mathematics and computer science to describe adjacent elements—such as neighboring cells in a grid or neighboring nodes in a graph.