outskirts

outskirts, suburbs

这两个名词均有“郊区、近郊”之意。
outskirts: 在现代英语中只用这个复数形式，通常指市区以外的地方。
suburbs: 侧重指与市区相接或相邻的居住区。

名词 outskirts:

1. outlying areas (as of a city or town)

名词 outskirt:

1. a part of the city far removed from the center
   同义词：outskirt, fringe

1. On the outskirts they passed a steel mill.
   他们在郊区从一家钢铁厂前面经过。
2. Presently she recognized that she was already in the outskirts of the city.
   不久她看出，她已经到达这座城市的郊区。
3. Fires swept through the outskirts, where the houses, being mostly of wood, were razed to the ground.
   大火席卷郊区，那里的房屋多数都是木造的，被烧成了一片废墟。