Nimby (Noun)
Meaning
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.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Usages
Examples
- Many affluent communities are labeled as NIMBYs because they fight against low-income housing projects in their neighborhoods but are perfectly fine with them being built elsewhere.
- A local homeowner was accused of being a NIMBY for opposing the construction of a nearby homeless shelter but volunteering at a similar one in a different part of town.
- The city council was forced to relocate the new waste management facility after a group of NIMBYs protested its original site near their high-end residential area.
- A resident was labeled a NIMBY for speaking out against the construction of a new highway extension in her neighborhood but having no qualms about a similar project in a neighboring community.
- Some environmental activists have been called NIMBYs for opposing the installation of wind turbines or other renewable energy projects in their own areas while supporting them in principle.