free city

American  

noun

1. a city having an independent government and forming a sovereign state by itself.

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free city British  

noun

1. a sovereign or autonomous city; city-state

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Etymology

Origin of free city

First recorded in 1610–20

Example Sentences

In the wake of World War I, the Sykes-Picot Agreement—the pact between Britain and France to redraw the map of the Middle East by carving the crumbling Ottoman Empire into separate spheres of influence—created whole new states and declared Jerusalem a free city with open entry for Jews.

From Slate

Mamdani, a state lawmaker for New York's Queens borough, appealed to voters by pledging to tackle the soaring cost of living, offering free city bus travel, childcare and city-run grocery stores.

From Barron's

She liked his specific policy proposals, like fast and free city buses, and his specific plans to make those proposals happen.

From Salon

Smuss was born in 1926 in the Free City of Danzig, a city-state that is now Gdansk, Poland.

From BBC

The city began charging for some of its parking spaces, which spurred employees of local businesses to use nearby free city lots, freeing up curb spaces for customers.

From Los Angeles Times