city

noun

ˈsi-tē How to pronounce city (audio)
Definition of citynext
as in town
a thickly settled, highly populated area commuters who drive every day between their homes in the suburbs and their jobs in the city

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of city In a fast-moving league and city, there were new storylines to follow—LeBron James was in town for his first game as a Philadelphia 76er. — Dan Adler, Vanity Fair, 21 Oct. 2026 Similar protests were being held in several cities in Greece, including Thessaloniki in the north and the western port city of Patras. — ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026 Not everyone will have to bear the weight of the hopes and dreams of a major city’s franchise, either. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026 This camp is in a remote part of Namibia, so food is typically trucked in every week from the capital city of Windhoek. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for city
Recent Examples of Synonyms for city
  1. town
  2. metropolis
  3. municipality
Noun
  • On March 21, 1937, a crowd of hundreds gathered in the southern Puerto Rican town of Ponce on Palm Sunday afternoon, preparing to march.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Long marches across the country also enabled the students to voice their cause in smaller towns and villages, where people were unaware of the protestors’ aims because of the state’s stranglehold on the media.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of town
Noun
  • The cutting-edge building details the city’s evolution from a humble fishing village to a bustling metropolis with over 18 million residents.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Imagine a perfect replica of a sprawling metropolis, a Tokyo or a São Paulo, engraved at atomic dimensions on a tile the size of a fingernail.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of metropolis
Noun
  • The exact amount Florida homeowners would save varies across municipalities because of differing local tax rates.
    — Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Pennsylvania law requires operators to notify municipalities at least 30 days before beginning delivery robot operations.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of municipality

Phrases Containing city

Browse Nearby Words

citizens
city
city slicker
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“City.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/city. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on city

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about city

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All