city

noun

ˈsi-tē 

plural cities

often attributive

1

a

: an inhabited place of greater size, population, or importance than a town or village

We spent the weekend in the city.

b

: an incorporated British town usually of major size or importance having the status of an episcopal see

c capitalized

(1)

: the financial district of London

(2)

: the influential financial interests of the British economy

d

: a usually large or important municipality in the U.S. governed under a charter granted by the state

e

: an incorporated municipal unit of the highest class in Canada

2

: city-state

3

: the people of a city

The city rebelled against the oppressive government.

4

slang : a thing, event, or situation that is strongly characterized by a specified quintessential feature or quality

The movie was shoot-out city.

Getting lost in the maze was panic city.

Synonyms

• asphalt jungle
• burg
• cosmopolis
• megacity
• megalopolis
• metropolis
• municipality
• town

Examples of city in a Sentence

major cities like London, Tokyo, and Rome

The city is working to make the streets safer.

a lawsuit against the city

Recent Examples on the Web

As such, narratives published in the magazine presented towns under British control, such as Ipoh, as modern and progressive, while neighboring cities like Bangkok in Siam or Palembang in the Dutch East Indies were depicted as disorderly, dirty, unsafe, and disgusting. —H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 22 Dec. 2024

Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, Pastor Dmitry of the Word of Life Church in Melitopol, a city in southeastern Ukraine, woke up to Russian military SUVs parked outside his house. —Daniel Darling, National Review, 22 Dec. 2024

One major event is the introduction of Shady Sands, a city in the New California Republic that was destroyed by nuclear weapons in the past. —Gord Magill, Newsweek, 22 Dec. 2024

When the 40-foot concrete tilt walls went up in August, city officials received complaints from nearby residents and filed a lawsuit against Velocis and Wheelock. —Austin American-Statesman, 22 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English citie large or small town, from Anglo-French cité, from Medieval Latin civitat-, civitas, from Latin, citizenship, state, city of Rome, from civis citizen — more at hind

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing city

• anti-city
• big-city
• central city
• city centre
• city clerk
• city council
• city desk
• city editor
• city father
• city hall
• city manager
• city planning
• city room
• city slicker
• city-state
• core city
• edge city
• fat city
• free city
• garden city
• holy city
• independent city
• inner city
• inter-city
• open city
• sister city
• tent city
• the big city
• the city

Kids Definition

city

noun

ˈsit-ē 

plural cities

1

: a place in which people live that is larger or more important than a town

2

: the people of a city

Etymology

Middle English citie "large or small town," from early French cité (same meaning), derived from Latin civitas "state of being a resident of a town, citizenship," from civis "citizen" — related to citizen, civil