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

Trump has pledged to crack down on sanctuary cities, vowing to withhold federal funds from jurisdictions that refuse compliance with federal immigration actions. —Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2025

But the losers may turn out to be like unexploded ordnance from World War II in European cities — unseen but with fuses that may explode with just a minor vibration. —Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 7 Dec. 2025

Floating vertiports open the door to fast routes between airports and city centers. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 7 Dec. 2025

But some sites, such as Pompeii, are exceptional and could be used to reconstruct ancient skylines and show how cities grew over time. —Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 7 Dec. 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