inner city

American  

[in-er sit-ee] / ˈɪn ər ˈsɪt i /

noun

inner cities plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• inner cities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of inner city

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

inner city

Another $2,000 is listed for Cornerstone Schools that year “to assist the inner city schools in Uganda,” which is what Cornerstone Schools does in Detroit and Cornerstone Development does not do in Uganda’s inner-city schools.

From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026

“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

On Wednesday, Fremont All-City defensive end Andrew Williams signed with USC, the first inner city signee since Joseph Lewis and Greg Johnson signed from Hawkins High in 2017.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025

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

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