city-state
noun
a sovereign state consisting of an autonomous city and, especially historically, any dependent settlements or territories.
city-states
-
pluralof city-state.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
The region's city-states -- Ur, Uruk, and Lagash among them -- developed complex political and religious systems that became the blueprint for later societies.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2025
The ancient Greek mindset, curious and adaptive, owes much to living amid hundreds of neighboring city-states with distinct cultures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2025
“Antigone” was performed during an uneasy respite from war with other Greek city-states.
From Salon ● Feb. 25, 2024
And the theater was used to help keep the coalition of city-states that made up ancient Greece from tearing one another apart for two centuries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2023
Like medieval Italian city-states, Nudzahui principalities were rigidly stratified, with the king and a small group of kinspeople and noble advisers gobbling up much of the wealth and land.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
