Chicago
Americannoun
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Judy Judy Cohen, born 1939, U.S. artist, author, and educator.
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a city in NE Illinois, on Lake Michigan: second largest city in the U.S.
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a river formed in Chicago that flows through downtown and, as engineered, to the Des Plaines River: part of the Illinois Waterway.
noun
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Carl Sandburg, in his poem “Chicago,” called the city the “Hog Butcher for the World” because of Chicago's heavy involvement in the meatpacking industry.
During the time of Prohibition, Chicago was controlled by gangsters, Al Capone being the most notorious. Gangster warfare continued long after this particularly violent period.
Originally called the “Windy City” because the city bragged about the 1893 World Expo that was held there. The term has since come to refer to the strong northern winds that blow off the lake in the winter.
Chicago's downtown is referred to as the “Loop” because it is enclosed by elevated railways, called the “El.”
For many years the second largest city in the United States, before being displaced by Los Angeles, and therefore referred to as the “Second City.”
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.
Set against a slithering, seductive Chicago house beat, it’s really more of a command, one that the Queen of Pop immediately follows with another decree: “Come on, meet me on the dance floor.”
From Salon • Jul. 8, 2026
They have also surged in recent years across the U.S., from Washington, D.C., to Chicago.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 7, 2026
The college freshman had arrived at LaGuardia after a flight from Chicago.
From Slate • Jul. 7, 2026
So, when both Trout and Neto hit home runs in the Angels’ 4-3 win over Chicago, it seemed like fate.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 5, 2026
We turn onto Astor Street, the famous road at the center of our downtown Chicago neighborhood.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
