citizen

American  

[sit-uh-zuhn, -suhn] / ˈsɪt ə zən, -sən /

noun

citizens plural

1. 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).

2. an inhabitant of a city or town, especially one entitled to its privileges or franchises.

3. an inhabitant, or denizen.

   The deer is a citizen of our woods.

4. a civilian, as distinguished from a soldier, police officer, etc.

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citizen British  

/ ˈsɪtɪzən, -ˌnɛs, ˈsɪtɪzənɪs /

noun

1. a native registered or naturalized member of a state, nation, or other political community Compare alien

2. an inhabitant of a city or town

3. a native or inhabitant of any place

4. a civilian, as opposed to a soldier, public official, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• citizeness
  noun
• noncitizen
  noun
• undercitizen
  noun
• citizenly
  adjective
• uncitizenly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• citizens
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

citizen citizens

Douglass may not have held a role as a judge, legislator, or even enfranchised citizen, yet he nonetheless played a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s understanding of equal citizenship in the Civil War era.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

Every American pastor has the same First Amendment rights as any other citizen.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

In 1958, he was naturalized as an American citizen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

Chen is currently the only US citizen designated as "wrongfully detained".

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

And now Allun, too, was to climb the Mountain Trying yet again to prove himself a worthy citizen of Rin.

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda

Read: Is this a ‘new crazy idea’? Combating housing affordability and loneliness by matching senior citizens and students.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday that Iran targeted a power plant and water desalination facility, calling it a threat to its citizens and a dangerous escalation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

The upshot was that instead of a more community-minded gathering of citizens casting ballots for friends and neighbors, delegates were simply voted into the state convention based on whom they would support for the Senate.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

Ghana was one of the first African countries to repatriate its citizens from South Africa following the latest wave of anti-migrant protests.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Stalin’s government hadn’t ever encouraged outspokenness among its citizens.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

• inhabitant
• national
• resident
• taxpayer