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
Gleick traces the history of conflicts to the first known war over water nearly 4,500 years ago between the ancient Sumerian city-states of Lagash and Umma in what is now southern Iraq.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
The Mayans of the tenth century CE built city-states as far south as Belize and Honduras.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
