the city

Meanings

1. 1nounsingular

   A large town, especially the one that has already been mentioned or is known to both speakers.

   Grammar: Use "the" for a specific city both people know; use "a" when introducing one for the first time.

   Patterns

   • the city where someone lives
   • leave the city
   • the city center

   We drove to the city where my grandmother grew up.

   The city has grown quickly, and rents have risen with it.

   She moved out of the city last year and now lives by the sea.

2. 2nounsingular

   The central business and shopping area of a city, as opposed to the suburbs.

   Grammar: Common after "into" or "in": go into the city, work in the city.

   Patterns

   • go into the city
   • in the city
   • the city center

   I go into the city twice a week for meetings.

   They live in the suburbs but work in the city.

   On Saturdays the city is packed with shoppers.

3. 3proper nounproperBritish

   The financial district of London, home to banks and the stock exchange.

   Grammar: Often written with a capital C: work in the City.

   Patterns

   • work in the City
   • a job in the City
   • the City of London

   He took a job in the City after finishing his degree.

   House prices in the City are among the highest in the country.

Word forms

Common combinations

the city center

The city center was closed to traffic for the festival.

go into the city

We usually go into the city for dinner on Fridays.

a big city

Living in a big city can be exciting but expensive.

the city council

The city council voted to build a new library.

a city dweller

As a city dweller, she rarely sees open fields.

Synonyms and how they differ

town

A town is smaller than a city and usually has fewer services; city suggests a larger, busier place.

metropolis

Metropolis is a formal word for a very large, important city, often a capital or economic center.

downtown

Downtown is American and means the central business area, not the whole city.

Opposites

Word family

citizen noun

a person who legally belongs to a country or city

citywide adjective

happening across the whole city

inner-city adjective

relating to the older, often poorer central parts of a city

Commonly confused: the city or citizen?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “the city”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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