citizen

[ sit-uh-zuh n, -suh n ]

/ ˈsɪt ə zən, -sən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR citizen ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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).

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

an inhabitant, or denizen: The deer is a citizen of our woods.

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

Nearby words

Origin of citizen

1275–1325; Middle English citisein < Anglo-French citesein, Old French citeain, equivalent to cite city + -ain -an; Anglo-French s perhaps by association with deinzain denizen

Related formscit·i·zen·ly, adjectivenon·cit·i·zen, nounun·cit·i·zen·ly, adjectiveun·der·cit·i·zen, noun

Can be confusedcitizen resident

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for citizens

Citizens, perhaps, need to feel like they can communicate something to science.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
The citizens of Stevens Point defeated fluoridation by a healthy margin.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As soon as this attack [happened], Paris citizens came together to show were are not afraid, we are Charlie Hebdo.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers|Nico Hines|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But the other thing that needs to be done is for us citizens to do.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

It is the obligation of citizens and journalists as well as governments.
Why We Stand With Charlie Hebdo—And You Should Too|John Avlon|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Since that day I have frequently heard its citizens boast that the place was not surrendered.
Camp-Fire and Cotton-Field|Thomas W. Knox
They elected captains and standard-bearers, and divided all the citizens capable of bearing arms into regiments and companies.
Freaks of Fanaticism|Sabine Baring-Gould
The importance of this last to the liberty and property of our citizens, induces me to urge it on your earliest attention.'
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson
Some of the citizens, in consequence of this threat, sent their wives and children into the country.
History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia|Charles Campbell
The citizens of James City had no difficulty in fabricating all the fancy and ornamental bricks or tiles which they desired.
Virginia Architecture in the Seventeenth Century|Henry Chandlee Forman

British Dictionary definitions for citizens

citizen

/ (ˈsɪtɪzən) /

noun

a native registered or naturalized member of a state, nation, or other political communityCompare alien

an inhabitant of a city or town

a native or inhabitant of any place

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

Related formsRelated adjective: civil

Derived Formscitizeness (ˈsɪtɪzənɪs, -ˌnɛs), fem ncitizenly, adjective

Word Origin for citizen

C14: from Anglo-French citesein, from Old French citeien, from cité, city

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

Word Origin and History for citizens

citizen

early 14c., "inhabitant of a city," from Anglo-French citezein (spelling subsequently altered, probably by influence of denizen), from Old French citeien "city-dweller, town-dweller, citizen" (12c., Modern French citoyen), from cite (see city) + -ain (see -ian). Replaced Old English burhsittend and ceasterware. Sense of "inhabitant of a country" is late 14c. Citizen's arrest recorded from 1941; citizen's band (radio) from 1947. Citizen of the world (late 15c.) translates Greek kosmopolites.