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 City

(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 of city

• town
• metropolis
• municipality

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

Russian forces have increased the number of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, likely as part of a push to exploit Kyiv’s shortage of ballistic missile interceptors. — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026

The famed highway—which turns 100 this year—passes through bustling cities, natural landmarks, and quirky roadside attractions, so there’s plenty of things to see (and do) along the way. — Kelsey Mulvey, Vogue, 3 Aug. 2026

With five stations within walking distance of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, State Farm Arena and the surrounding area, visiting World Cup fans told Turnbull the service was cheap, convenient and better than other cities. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 3 Aug. 2026

The partial solar eclipse or Surya Garahn was visible in India today, the eclipse was seen in various cities of the country including Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Chennai, etc. — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026

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

Rhymes for city

• bitty
• ditty
• gritty
• kitty
• nitty
• pity
• pretty
• smriti
• witty
• catholicity
• ellipticity
• historicity

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