Definition of city
cities
1a : 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 seec capitalized (1) : the financial district of London (2) : the influential financial interests of the British economyd : a usually large or important municipality in the U.S. governed under a charter granted by the statee : 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.
From the M-W Editors
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
Origin and Etymology of city
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
CITY Defined for English Language Learners
city
playDefinition of city for English Language Learners
-
: a place where people live that is larger or more important than a town : an area where many people live and work
-
: the people in a city
-
the city : the government of a city
CITY Defined for Kids
city
playDefinition of city for Students
cities
1 : a place in which people live and work that is larger than a town
2 : the people of a city The whole city was excited about the football game.
Learn More about city
-
See words that rhyme with city Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for city Spanish Central: Translation of city Nglish: Translation of city for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of city for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about city
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up city? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!