city manager

American

noun

a person not publicly elected but appointed by a city council to manage a city.

city manager British

noun

(in the US) an administrator hired by a municipal council to manage its affairs See also council-manager plan

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of city manager

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

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.

White, the Oakwood city manager, said he has so far been unable to get any information about the detention-center plans from ICE.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Without disclosing an exact amount, the city manager said that Pico Rivera had set aside some funding for strategic real estate acquisitions and that this would be the ideal investment for the community.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2026

Higgins, a county commissioner, defeated former city manager Emilio González by roughly 59 percent to 41 percent, according to preliminary results.

From Salon • Dec. 10, 2025

The indictment named 13 witnesses who testified before the criminal grand jury, including a city council member, the city’s economic development director, a former council member and a former city manager.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2025

Maybe Siobhan would have become the first black city manager, not her grandmother.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023