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

That’s intentional, according to both demonstration organizers and police in Baltimore, a city that is no stranger to unrest that turns destructive. —Jean Marbella, Baltimore Sun, 14 June 2025

As cities across the country braced for hundreds of protests planned for the weekend, California leaders and President Donald Trump remain in an intense showdown on Friday after an appeals court allowed the president to maintain his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles. —Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 14 June 2025

Asked about the optics of the two groups fighting each other through open letters to city leadership, Martinez pointed out that both Black and Latino students have seen significant improvements in literacy rates under his tenure. —Nell Salzman, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2025

The director of the Los Angeles Police Department's union slammed city and state leadership while issuing a stark warning to would-be anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement rioters. —Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 14 June 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