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
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.

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Explosions in Thursday’s Russian attack were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, Lutsk, and many other cities in central and western Ukraine. Barry Hatton, Chicago Tribune, 28 Nov. 2024 Tourism to the bustling Spanish city was up by 24% in 2023, and there are no shortage of places to stay—from the best Airbnbs in Barcelona to the chicest hotels. Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 28 Nov. 2024 Last September, Prada opened a temporary store at Barcelona’s Marina Port Vell harbor in conjunction with the 37th America’s Cup sailing competition in the Spanish city. Martino Carrera, WWD, 28 Nov. 2024 Houston saw 43 incidents of gun violence in that timeframe while San Antonino was the second-most Thanksgiving-shooting-prone Texas city with 16 incidents. Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for city 

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of city was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near city

Cite this Entry

“City.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/city. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

city

noun
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

More from Merriam-Webster on city

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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