Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One who objects to a project, especially one intended for the benefit of the public, such as a school or landfill, being sited near one's residence.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • initialism Alternative spelling of nimby. Not In My BackYard – opposition to building, or people opposed to building.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun someone who objects to siting something in their own neighborhood but does not object to it being sited elsewhere; an acronym for not in my backyard

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[n(ot) i(n) m(y) b(ack) y(ard).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Coined 1980 in UK by Emilie Travel Livezey, popularized by British politician Nicholas Ridley, who was Conservative Secretary of State for the Environment.

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Examples

  • The term NIMBY now appears in American dictionaries because "not in my backyard" is a common sentiment that surfaces almost whenever a building project is proposed in a nice neighborhood.

    Aspen Times - Top Stories 2009

  • In other words, what we call NIMBY is less about what people do or don't want in their backyards, and more about people in and out of the community using the backyard as a flashpoint for national opposition.

    Boing Boing 2009

  • I think being an airport NIMBY is all very well, but the airport has been growing for 60 years - do the people who bought cheaply because it was near an airport really expect the airport to stop expanding?

    In Praise of Nimby`s Newmania 2007

  • The acronym NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) has become widely used to describe the attitude and reaction among the local population protesting the introduction of something unwanted in their community.

    NIMBYism 2008

  • Unfortunately, NIMBY is what caused the critical energy situation in California.

    Entergy Bails on Louisa Gas Plant at cvillenews.com 2002

  • The acronym NIMBY -- "Not in My Back Yard" -- is a battle cry commonly hurled by neighbors at any nearby controversy.

    Penn State Live 2010

  • So let's not use the word NIMBY to attack the scores of Glenvar residents who attended an anti-asphalt plant meeting Thursday night at Glenvar Middle School.

    The Roanoke Times: Home page 2009

  • The term "NIMBY" - an acronym for "not in my back yard" - was used more than once in Monday's discussion.

    Local News from The Gainesville Sun 2010

  • The term "NIMBY" - an acronym for "not in my back yard" - was used more than once in Monday's discussion.

    Local News from The Gainesville Sun 2010

  • Economic freedom will tend to maintain the institutions that lend themselves to such freedom because of what many call the NIMBY syndrome.

    Economic Freedom and Divergence, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009

  • Whether those changes can happen in O’Fallon before the NIMBY (not in my back yard!) backlash bell tolls is unclear.

    Is the tiny little neighborhood the city of the future? Henry Grabar 2023

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