city
city
Pronunciation
ˈsɪt̬.i/ (General American) or /ˈsɪt.i/ (Received Pronunciation/British English)
First Syllable: /sɪt/ (or /sɪt̬/ in American English)
/s/: As in "say" or "sit".
/ɪ/: As in "ship" or "sit".
/t/: As in "town" or "top". (In American English, this is often a "flapped t" represented by /t̬/, which sounds more like the "dd" in "ladder".)
Second Syllable: /i/
/i/: As in "happy" or "flee".
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: city (e.g., "The city is bustling today.")
Plural Noun: cities (e.g., "Many cities are growing rapidly.")
While "city" itself is the noun, there are related words or ways it can be used in other grammatical forms:
Adjective Forms:
urban: This is the most common adjective used to describe something related to a city (e.g., "urban development," "urban life").
municipal: Refers to the local government or public services of a city or town (e.g., "municipal services," "municipal court").
civic: Pertaining to a city or citizenship (e.g., "civic duty," "civic pride").
citified: (Less common) Having the characteristics or customs of a city or city people (e.g., "He became quite citified after moving from the countryside.").
city-like: Resembling a city.
"City" can also be used attributively as an adjective before another noun (e.g., "city council," "city limits," "city park").
Verb Form:
citify: To make something or someone more like a city or city person; to urbanize. (e.g., "The new developments are citifying the rural landscape.")
citifies (3rd person singular present)
citifying (present participle)
citified (past tense, past participle, also an adjective as noted above)
Adverb Form:
cityward or citywards: Towards a city (e.g., "The travelers headed cityward at dusk.")
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A large, densely populated urban area, typically with its own local government, and often serving as a significant center for commerce, culture, and industry within a broader region.
Synonyms: metropolis, urban center, town (smaller), municipality, conurbation, megalopolis, urban area
Antonyms: countryside, rural area, village, hamlet, wilderness
The inhabitants or the municipal government of such a large urban area, viewed collectively.
Synonyms: populace, citizenry, administration, council, local authority
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms for "inhabitants" in this specific collective sense; for "government," perhaps "anarchy" or "unregulated populace" though not direct opposites)
Verb
(To citify) To transform a place or person into something resembling a city or having the characteristics of urban life; to imbue with urban customs or qualities.
Synonyms: urbanize, develop, modernize, civilize (in the sense of bringing to a more developed state)
Antonyms: ruralize, decentralize, de-urbanize
Adjective
(Used attributively) Pertaining to, located in, or characteristic of a city; urban.
Synonyms: urban, metropolitan, municipal, downtown, central, civic
Antonyms: rural, country, provincial, suburban (though suburbs are often adjacent to cities, they are distinct from the core city)
Examples of Use
Books:
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities) - This classic title immediately establishes the setting and scale of the narrative.
"Every city has a soul, and New York's is etched in its towering skyscrapers and vibrant streets." (Attributed to various travel writers describing New York City) - Here, "city" refers to the abstract entity and its characteristic features.
Newspapers:
"Nairobi's city council is debating new public transport regulations aimed at easing traffic congestion and improving commuter safety." (The Daily Nation) - Uses "city" attributively to refer to the local government body.
"The recent heatwave has affected major cities across Europe, leading to increased power consumption and public health warnings." (The Guardian) - Plural form referring to multiple urban centers.
Online Publications:
"How smart city technologies are transforming urban living in Singapore." (World Economic Forum, June 25, 2025) - Uses "city" attributively in the common term "smart city."
"Travel guide: Exploring the hidden gems of Rome, the Eternal City." (Lonely Planet Online, Retrieved July 2, 2025) - Uses "City" as part of a well-known epithet for Rome.
"A comprehensive guide to the best vegan restaurants in your city." (VegNews.com, Ongoing series) - Refers to the user's local urban environment.
Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:
Film: "Batman patrols Gotham City, a fictional metropolis plagued by crime and corruption." (The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008) - Establishes the primary setting of the narrative.
Television Series: "Welcome to Westworld, a hyper-realistic amusement park populated by androids, designed to allow visitors to live out their wildest fantasies in a meticulously crafted city." (Westworld, HBO, 2016) - Describes a large, artificial urban environment.
Video Games: "Explore Night City, a vast dystopian metropolis, in Cyberpunk 2077." (CD Projekt Red, 2020) - Names the primary game setting.
Music: "Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can't do, now you're in New York City." ("Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys, 2009) - Evokes the iconic urban landscape.
Social Media/General Discourse (e.g., X/Twitter, Instagram captions):
"Just moved to a new city! So much to explore! #newbeginnings #citylife" (User Post) - Refers to a new place of residence.
"The traffic in this city is getting ridiculous. Time for better infrastructure." (User Post) - Refers to the local urban area and its problems.
"Weekend getaway to the most beautiful city in the world!" (Instagram caption with a scenic photo) - Subjective praise for an urban location.
"Participating in the city marathon this Sunday. Wish me luck!" (User Post) - Uses "city" attributively to describe a local event.
10 Famous Quotes Using City
"A great city is not to be confounded with a populous one." (Aristotle, Politics)
"What is the city but the people?" (William Shakespeare, Coriolanus)
"I believe that people make a city, and that the city has a personality. And the more unique the personalities of the people, the more unique the city." (Frank Gehry, attributed)
"New York is not a city, it's a world." (Imamu Baraka, also known as LeRoi Jones, Blues People)
"Go, set a watchman, to the city go, and what he seeth, let him declare." (Isaiah 21:6, King James Bible)
"When you leave a beautiful city, it follows you. Every building, every street, every alley, and every sky." (Eleanor Vance, The Old City of St. Augustine: A Story of Three Centuries)
"No city should be too large for a man to walk out of in a morning." (Cyril Connolly, The Unquiet Grave)
"Paris is not a city; it's a world." (Gabriel-Honoré Marcel, attributed)
"The city, however, is a point of view, an attitude toward life, a place where the human spirit is allowed to flourish." (Lewis Mumford, The City in History)
"The creative city is an ideal, a dream that we can work toward." (Charles Landry, The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators)
Etymology
The word "city" has a fascinating journey through languages!
At its very root, "city" comes from a Latin word, "civitas." Now, here's the interesting part: "civitas" didn't originally mean a physical place like buildings and streets. Instead, it meant "citizenship" or the "community of citizens." It was about the people and their rights and belonging to a group, stemming from the word "civis," meaning "citizen."
Over time, this idea of "the community of citizens" started to be applied to the place where those citizens lived. So, the meaning shifted from the people to the settlement itself.
The word then traveled from Latin into Old French as "cite" (and later "cité"). It was from this Old French word that English borrowed "city" around the early 13th century (around 1200s).
When it first came into English, "city" was often used to mean a large or important town, particularly one that was walled or that had a cathedral. It was seen as a grander term than the native Old English word "burh" (which gave us "borough"). So, the first known use and meaning in English referred to a substantial, often fortified or religiously significant, settlement.
In short, "city" started as an idea about a group of people and their shared identity, then evolved to describe the physical place where that community resided.
Phrases + Idioms Containing City
Here's a list of phrases and idioms using "city":
The Big Apple: (A nickname for New York City)
A tale of two cities: (Referring to contrasting situations or places, from Dickens' novel)
City slicker: (Someone sophisticated and accustomed to city life, often used humorously or disparagingly)
Ghost city: (A city that has been abandoned)
Inner city: (The central, often older, and more densely populated part of a city)
Smart city: (A city that uses technology to improve services and quality of life)
City limits: (The official boundary of a city)
The concrete jungle: (A metaphorical term for a city, emphasizing its artificial and sometimes harsh nature)
Every city has its secrets: (A phrase suggesting hidden aspects or stories within an urban area)
City lights: (Referring to the illuminated urban landscape at night)
The city that never sleeps: (Another nickname for New York City, highlighting its constant activity)
To paint the town red: (To go out and celebrate exuberantly, often in a city)
From the sticks to the city: (Describes someone moving from a rural area to an urban one)
A city on a hill: (A metaphor for a community that serves as a beacon or example to others, often with religious or moral connotations)
City hall: (The building housing a city's municipal government; also refers to the government itself)
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of city from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
