cit ‧ y S1 W1 /ˈsɪti/ BrE AmE noun ( plural cities ) [countable]
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: cité , from Latin civitas 'citizenship, state, city of Rome' , from civis ; ⇨ ↑ civic ]
1 . a large important town:
The nearest big city was St. Louis.
⇨ ↑ inner city
2 .
a) British English a large town that has been given an official title by a king or queen:
the city of Oxford
b) American English a town of any size that has definite borders and powers that were officially given by the state government:
The city of Cleveland celebrated its 200th birthday with fireworks and an outdoor concert.
3 . [usually singular] the people who live in a city:
The city has been living in fear since last week’s earthquake.
4 . the city American English the government of a city:
The city is working to improve public transportation.
⇨ ↑ City, the
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a big/large/major city
They have stores in Houston, Dallas, and other big cities.
▪ a great city (=very important and interesting)
Cairo is one of the world's great cities.
▪ a capital city (=where the government of a country or state is)
Cuba's capital city is Havana.
▪ somebody's home/native city (=where they were born or grew up)
He said that he never wanted to leave his home city.
▪ a cosmopolitan city (=full of people from different parts of the world)
San Francisco is a very cosmopolitan city.
▪ an industrial city
Sheffield is an industrial city in the north of England.
▪ a provincial city (=in a part of the country that is not near the capital)
There have been protests in the capital and in provincial cities.
▪ an ancient city
the ancient city of Jerusalem
▪ a historic city (=very old and with an interesting history)
Budapest is a beautiful and historic city.
▪ a cathedral city (=with a cathedral)
He went to university in the cathedral city of Durham.
▪ a university city (=with a university)
Uppsala is a university city.
▪ a walled city (=surrounded by a wall)
the old walled city of Alghero
▪ a twin city British English (=one that has a special relationship with a similar town in another country)
Strasbourg is Leicester's twin city in France.
■ nouns
▪ the city centre British English , the city center American English
The hotel is in the city centre.
▪ the city limits American English (=the furthest parts of the city)
rural areas south of the city limits
▪ a city dweller (=someone who lives in a city)
In the summer, city dwellers escape to the sea.
▪ city life
the advantages of city life
▪ a city street
Traffic was moving slowly along the city streets.
■ phrases
▪ in the heart of a city
The cathedral is right in the heart of the city.
▪ the outskirts of a city (=the edge)
There were several bombings on the outskirts of the city.
■ verbs
▪ found a city (=start developing a new city)
He founded the city of Baghdad in the 8th century.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ place with houses, shops, and offices
▪ city a large area with houses, shops, offices etc that is often the centre of government for an area. A city is bigger than a town :
The nearest big city is San Francisco.
▪ town a large area with houses, shops, offices etc. A town is smaller than a city :
La Coruña is a pretty seaside town.
▪ capital ( also capital city ) the city where the government of a country or state is:
We travelled to Budapest, the capital of Hungary.
▪ metropolis a big busy city that is full of people and activity:
After 1850 Paris grew quickly into a busy metropolis.
▪ urban adjective [only before noun] relating to towns and cities:
Air pollution is particularly bad in urban areas.
|
urban development
■ outside part of city
▪ the outskirts the area around the edge of a city or just outside it:
Disneyland is on the outskirts of Paris.
▪ suburb an area around the edges of a city, where many people live:
He lives in a suburb of London.
| the suburbs :
More and more people are moving to the suburbs.