inner city

American  

[in-er sit-ee] / ˈɪn ər ˈsɪt i /

noun

1. an older part of a city, densely populated and usually deteriorating, inhabited mainly by poor, often minority, groups.

   Struggling schools in the inner city face substantial challenges to prepare students for college.

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adjective

1. of or relating to such a section within a city: low-income residents in inner-city neighborhoods.

   after-school programs for inner-city youth;

   low-income residents in inner-city neighborhoods.

inner city British  

noun

1. 1. the parts of a city in or near its centre, esp when they are associated with poverty, unemployment, substandard housing, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      inner-city schools

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inner city Cultural  

1. A general term for impoverished areas of large cities. The inner city is characterized by minimal educational opportunities, high unemployment and crime rates, broken families, and inadequate housing. (See ghettos.)

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Etymology

Origin of inner city

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

“I was in the inner city, I’m not going to shy away from that,” he says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

Handsworth and other inner city areas have been worst affected in recent years by a lack of investment, Mr Connell says, "disproportionately hitting the areas which already had problems around poverty and housing stock".

From BBC • Oct. 12, 2025

Maverick Carter, a longtime friend and business partner of both James and Schottenstein who runs an entertainment company, describes meeting Schottenstein as “a young African-American kid from the inner city of Akron, Ohio.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 30, 2025

The group released their debut single Liberty Bell in 2017, a track which makes reference to a working class area of inner city Dublin known as the Liberties.

From BBC • Aug. 29, 2025

According to one study, during a twelve-year period, the number of people returning from prison back home to “core counties”—those counties that contain the inner city of a metropolitan area—tripled.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• central city
• downtown
• slum