citizen
Americannoun
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a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection (distinguished from alien).
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an inhabitant of a city or town, especially one entitled to its privileges or franchises.
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an inhabitant, or denizen.
The deer is a citizen of our woods.
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a civilian, as distinguished from a soldier, police officer, etc.
noun
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a native registered or naturalized member of a state, nation, or other political community Compare alien
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an inhabitant of a city or town
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a native or inhabitant of any place
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a civilian, as opposed to a soldier, public official, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of citizen
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English citisein, from Anglo-French citesein, Old French citeain, from cite city + -ain -an; change from citeain to citesein perhaps by association with Anglo-French denzain denizen
Explanation
It's pretty hard to be on this planet and not be recognized as a citizen of somewhere. You can be a citizen of a city, a country, or the world. Citizen can mean "an inhabitant of a particular place." To be recognized as an official citizen of a town, city, or country, one typically has to meet certain requirements. In return, one gets certain rights, such as the right to vote. In other uses, a citizen may just be someone who lives in a place, such as a "citizen of the world." That's a nice thing to be, but it's not going to get you social security payments when you retire.
Vocabulary lists containing citizen
Election Lingo
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Electoral Elocution: The Verbiage of Voting
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"The Civil Rights Movement"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Citizen science played an important role in the project because participants used the sponges under real household conditions.
From Science Daily • Jun. 1, 2026
A video posted on the Citizen App shows a person being hoisted by a helicopter into the sky.
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026
According to historian Patrick Weil, author of “The Sovereign Citizen: Denaturalization and the Origins of the American Republic,” more than 22,000 Americans had their citizenship revoked between 1906 and 1967.
From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026
Last year, one in four federal lobbyists pitched lawmakers on AI policy, data centers or autonomous vehicles, according to an analysis by the government watchdog group Public Citizen.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
In 1939, John Houseman joined Welles in Hollywood and helped edit the Citizen Kane script.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
