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
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.
Beachgoers are being invited to become citizen scientists to help track how our coastline is changing.
From BBC • Jul. 9, 2026
When a US judge ruled that Benjamin, a Nigerian green card holder married to an American citizen, was entitled to torture protections, he was looking forward to reuniting with his family.
From Barron's • Jul. 7, 2026
Pointed at the elite, AI concentrates power; pointed at the citizen, AI gives it back.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 6, 2026
Yup: The federal government will add $1,000 to the accounts of U.S. citizen children born between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 6, 2026
Grandpa Nate later explained to me that unlike the average citizen of Century Village, rabbis don't have former lives.
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
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.
