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

• 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

Eight of our readers’ 10 favorite South Carolina resorts can be found along the coast; three winners are located on Hilton Head Island (with another just off the island in Bluffton), and four are located in the communities surrounding the reader-favorite city, Charleston. —Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2025

But over the last seven months, city workers have been heaving up roads, digging trenches, some 20-foot deep for catch basins, as part of the city’s $42.3 million commitment to upgrade the underground infrastructure. —Kansas City Star, 8 July 2025

New York City — one of the World Cup host cities next summer, along with Philadelphia — had three days in June with highs above 95 degrees, which last happened in 1988. —Rebecca Tauber, New York Times, 8 July 2025

The two overlapping presentations–on view in Wisconsin through August 31, 2025, on view in San Jose July 11, 2025, through February 22, 2026–each tailored to their host city, reflect the diverse U.S. contexts in which HMong communities have adapted and built new homelands. —Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025

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
• witty
• atomicity
• 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