city
cit·y[ˈsɪtʰiː]noun
city is spelled C-I-T-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables (cit·y). It appears 407 times per million words in written English, the 220th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, city means “A large settlement, bigger than a town; sometimes with a specific legal definition, depending on the place” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of city is cities.
How many letters and syllables are in city?
| Letters | 4: C-I-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: cit·y |
| In writing | 407 times per million words; the 220th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is city?
City appears 407 times per million words in written English, the 220th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce city?
- /ˈsɪti/
- UK [ˈsɪtʰiː]
- British [ˈsɪtʰɪj]
City has 2 syllables, split cit·y in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-city.ogg, En-us-city.ogg, EN-AU_ck1_city.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of city
- cities plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does city mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A large settlement, bigger than a town; sometimes with a specific legal definition, depending on the place.
São Paulo is the largest city in South America.
- 2
UKA settlement granted special status by royal charter or letters patent; traditionally, a settlement with a cathedral regardless of size.
- 3
AustraliaThe central business district; downtown.
I'm going into the city today to do some shopping.
- 4
slangA large amount of something (used after the noun).
It’s video game city in here!
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate city?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of city: c..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
City in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense large settlement:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ville, cité, grande-ville |
| German | Stadt, Großstadt |
| Portuguese | cidade, urbe |
| Spanish | ciudad, urbe |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does city come from?
Inherited from Middle English cite, derived from Old French cite, derived from Late Latin cīvitātem (“city”), in Classical Latin "citizenry", derived from cīvis (“fellow-citizen”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- (“lie down; settle”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).