periphery.

1. The outer part or edge of a physical area.

2. A position outside the main focus of influence, activity, or attention.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• urban periphery
• on the periphery
• social periphery

On the page

Bus services grew less frequent toward the urban periphery.

New arrivals lived downtown but remained on the social periphery.

The clinic served communities on the periphery of the regional economy.

Usage notes

Primary category: setting. Spatial edge and social marginality are related but distinct. Someone can live centrally yet remain on a community's social periphery. Plural: peripheries. No other inflection applies to this noun.