citizen
Americannoun
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citizens
plural
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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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
The 27-year-old Russian-Australian citizen underwent "military-style" training in Russia and later joined the Ukrainian armed forces, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett told a news conference.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Immigration authorities alleged that Hernandez-Umana lied about being a U.S. citizen to cross the southern border illegally through Texas in 2017.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Makhijani is a dual citizen of India, where he has traveled recently and owns property, according to the decision.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
To this day, Switzerland mandates that every citizen must have access to a nuclear bunker, external.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
After the war, Alfons Heck emigrated to the United States and became an American citizen.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
"They will never be private citizens anywhere in their lives," Jones says.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Many Cuban children and other vulnerable citizens have died in the process, according to the United Nations, also citing a doubling of infant mortality.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
Like any loyal citizens, we Angelenos like to think we’re No. 1 in important things.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
The 1994 case about the internment of Japanese American citizens is still relevant today as the Supreme Court has failed to fully contend with its legacy.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
Did senior citizens get some kind of special deal?
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
