what a city

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrase

   Used to show strong admiration or surprise about a place, meaning it is impressive or remarkable.

   Grammar: Stands alone as a comment; it is not followed by a verb, and it takes an exclamation mark rather than a question mark.

   Patterns

   • What a city!
   • What a city this is!
   • What a city we live in!

   What a city! I have never seen so many lights.

   We stepped out of the station at midnight and just said, "What a city!"

   What a city this is — every street has something new to look at.

2. 2phrasefixed phraseinformal

   Used with a disappointed or critical tone when a place turns out to be chaotic, dirty, or hard to live in.

   Grammar: Same fixed form; the speaker's tone, not the grammar, makes it negative, so it can sound sarcastic in writing.

   Patterns

   • What a city — nothing works!
   • What a city, with all this noise.

   What a city — the buses never come and the streets are full of rubbish.

   "What a city," she said, after waiting forty minutes for a taxi.

   What a city this turned out to be: nothing open, nowhere to sit.

Common combinations

What a city!

What a city! The view from the bridge is amazing.

say "what a city"

We all said "what a city" as the plane came down over the harbor.

what a great city

What a great city to spend a weekend in.

what a beautiful city

What a beautiful city — the old town is like a museum.

what a city this is

What a city this is, with markets on every corner.

what a city to live in

What a city to live in, if you can afford the rent.

Synonyms and how they differ

what a place

Used the same way about any location, so it is less specific than 'what a city' and can refer to a beach, a bar or a village.

what a town

Fits a smaller settlement and often sounds warmer or more local than 'what a city'.

this is some city

An informal American way to express the same admiration, but it is a full clause rather than a fixed exclamation.

Word family

city noun

A large town where many people live and work.

cityscape noun

The view or general appearance of a city, especially its buildings.

inner-city adjective

Describing the older, central part of a city, often with social problems.

citywide adjective

Happening or existing across a whole city.

Commonly confused: what a city or what city? what a city or which city?

Practice

Make it your own

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

Explore more words