1. A center of population, commerce, and culture; a town of significant size and importance.
2. 1. An incorporated municipality in the United States with definite boundaries and legal powers set forth in a charter granted by the state.
   2. A Canadian municipality of high rank, usually determined by population but varying by province.
   3. A large incorporated town in Great Britain, usually the seat of a bishop, with its title conferred by the Crown.
3. The inhabitants of a city considered as a group.
4. An ancient Greek city-state.
5. Slang. Used in combination as an intensive: The playing field was mud city after the big rain.
6. City The financial and commercial center of London. Used with the.

[Middle English cite, from Old French, from Latin cīvitās, from cīvis, citizen.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.