DictionaryAI

city

noun · City noun
SI-tee/ˈsɪt.i/SIT-ee/ˈsɪt.i/

Pluralcities

5 meanings of city

Practice

  1. 1
    big settlementnouncountable
    A large settlement, usually bigger than a town, or a place formally granted the title of city, which in the UK may be small.

    She moved to the city to find better job opportunities.

    Modern cities sprawl far beyond their original boundaries.

    UsageThe city can mean urban life in general: move to the city. With a name: the city of Rome.

    Similarmetropolis

    Oppositecountry, countryside

    Note

    Behind the word stands a body of people rather than a place. Late Latin cīvitātem meant "city", but in Classical Latin it meant the citizenry, from cīvis, "fellow-citizen". That older sense survives whenever a city is said to act or feel, as in Shakespeare's "the Citie fauours them" in The Third Part of Henry the Sixt. There the city is its inhabitants, not its streets.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

  2. 2
    nouncountable
    The local government of a city, or all of its residents, regarded as a single body.

    The city has agreed to pay the family two million dollars to settle the lawsuit.

    After the flood, the entire city pulled together to clear the streets.

    Note

    News writing leans on this sense constantly: residents sue the city, the city settles, the city approves a budget, all meaning the local government acting as one legal party. The other strand is the population, as in the whole city mourned. Context decides which is meant, and City Hall does the same job as a shorthand for the government alone.

  3. 3
    nounAustraliacountable
    The central business district of an urban area, where commerce and offices are concentrated.

    He commutes into the city each day for his job at a law firm.

    The city empties out after office hours, leaving the streets quiet.

    UsageUse the: go into the city for movement, work in the city for location.

    Similardowntown, center

    Oppositesuburbs

    Note

    In Australian use, the city means the center rather than the whole. Someone who lives in the suburbs still goes into the city to shop. Context separates it from the whole settlement, since a suburb counts as part of the city in one sense and lies outside it in this one.

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    huge amountnounslanguncountable
    A large amount or abundance of something, used immediately after the noun it refers to.

    By the time the meeting ended, it was confusion city in the office.

    We forgot the bug spray, and the campsite was mosquito city.

    UsageUsually in the frame it's ___ city or it was ___ city: mosquito city, stress city.

    Note

    A playful construction puts city after the noun it intensifies. "It's video game city in here" means the place is overrun with them.

  2. 5
    London financenoun · CityBritishbritish
    The City of London, the old central district of London, or the banks and financial businesses based there, taken together; usually referred to as the City.

    The City gave the Chancellor's budget a cool reception, and shares slipped by the afternoon.

    Bonuses in the City have rebounded after two lean years.

    UsageWritten with a capital C and usually with the: the City reacted badly, a job in the City.

    Note

    A British shorthand built on a place: the City of London, the old square mile at the heart of the capital where banks and finance houses cluster. Like Wall Street in American usage, it names an industry by its address.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The financial sense of the City refers to institutions principally based in the City of London. en.wiktionary.org
    • The City of London is London's historic core, known as the Square Mile. cityoflondon.gov.uk
    • Banks and other financial businesses cluster in the City of London. londonmuseum.org.uk
    • Wall Street similarly gives its geographical name to the American financial industry. en.wikipedia.org

Practice

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Origin

"City" came from Middle English cite, from Old French cite, from Late Latin cīvitātem meaning "city": though in Classical Latin it meant "citizenry." This came from cīvis ("fellow-citizen"), ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root *ḱey- ("to lie down; settle"). It largely displaced the native Old English word burg, which became Modern English "borough."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts