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
South Carolina’s coast gets its fair share of attention, thanks to cities like Charleston and Hilton Head.
—
Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 1 Aug. 2025
The story was moved from that city to Boston, MA, specifically South Boston.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Just before sunrise, a small group of newsmen slid into combat fatigues and safari jackets before slipping through the waking city in a convoy of vans and rental cars.
—Gary Knight, Rolling Stone, 1 Aug. 2025
There’s also a line of city and state officials supporting the new rail.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for city
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 1 Aug. 2025
The story was moved from that city to Boston, MA, specifically South Boston.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Just before sunrise, a small group of newsmen slid into combat fatigues and safari jackets before slipping through the waking city in a convoy of vans and rental cars.
—Gary Knight, Rolling Stone, 1 Aug. 2025
There’s also a line of city and state officials supporting the new rail.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for city
Cite this Entry
“City.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/city. Accessed 8 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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