city

noun

A large settlement, bigger than a town; sometimes with a specific legal definition, depending on the place.

(Australia) The central business district; downtown.

(slang) A large amount of something (used after the noun).

(UK) The City of London, the historic core of London where the Roman settlement of Londinium was established.

(UK) The United Kingdom's financial industries, which are principally based in the City of London.

(New York) The borough of Manhattan, the historic core of New York.

(soccer, informal) Manchester City Football Club, an English football club.

Any of several other cities in metropolitan areas (such as San Francisco).

(UK, historical in Ireland and Commonwealth) A settlement granted special status by royal charter or letters patent; traditionally, a settlement with a cathedral regardless of size.

Roots

civitascit- · Latin · city

Synonyms for city

metropolisn townn downtownn megalopolisn oppidan midtownadj metropolitanadj municipaladj municipalityn uptownn conurbationn suburbsn urbanadj townshipn districtn boroughn polisn

Synonyms & related words for city

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of city — including metropolis, town, downtown, megalopolis, oppidan, midtown. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to city

Explore words related to city — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include supercity, citification, citify, urbanology, metroplex, intracity, urbanologist, citywide. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for city

Common synonyms for city include metropolis, town, downtown, megalopolis, oppidan, midtown, metropolitan, municipal — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does city come from?

The word city breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root cit-, from Latin civitas (“city”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.