A borough is a political division originally used in England. The equivalent, burgh, was used in Scotland. In England, Borough is pronounced 'burruh' or 'bruh', and burgh is pronounced 'bruh'; in Scotland borough and burgh are both pronounced 'burra'; in America, borough is pronounced 'burrow' or 'borrow'. The name derives from the Old English word burg, meaning "fortified town". Towns were granted borough status by Royal Charter and, until the electoral reforms of the 19th century, returned Members of Parliament alongside those from the Counties. A variant spelling seen in many place names is Brough, normally pronounced 'bruh'.

The administrative districts of Greater London are also known as boroughs, apart from the City of London and the City of Westminster. There is a region in the London Borough of Southwark, just called the Borough. There is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire called Brough, pronounced 'Bruff'.

It is also the name used for the county divisions within New York City. The five boroughs that make up the city are:

• The Bronx (Bronx County)
• Brooklyn (Kings County)
• Manhattan (New York County)
• Queens (Queens County)
• Staten Island (Richmond County)

The U.S. state of Alaska is divided into boroughs, corresponding to the counties of most other States. Each borough has a borough seat which serves a purpose similar to a county seat in other U.S. states.

A self-governing city or town in some U.S. States, such as Pennsylvania, is called a borough, sometimes spelled (in the municipality's name) boro. In some states (although not in Pennsylvania), boroughs may be grouped together under a governing township.

In Quebec, the term borough is used as the English translation of the French arrondissement, meaning an administrative division of a major city.

New Zealand formerly used the term "borough" (pronounced 'burra') to designate self-governing towns of smaller than city size.