open city

American  

noun

1. a city that, during a war, is officially declared demilitarized and open to occupation, and that will consequently not be defended, in order to spare it, under international law, from bombardment or other military attack.

2. a city or autonomous city-state that gives equal access and status to inhabitants and visitors without regard to religious, ethnic, racial, or national affiliation.

---

Etymology

Origin of open city

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

open city

Before that, he pushed to open city commission meetings with a satanic invocation and erected a Festivus pole at the Florida Capitol to protest a Nativity scene.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 25, 2022

Essential services including hotels, supermarkets and pharmacies will however remain open, city officials said as they announced the measures at a press conference on Saturday.

From Reuters ● Jul. 9, 2022

Quartz also mentioned one open city proposal, which would have the coin serve as a reward for people who call to report rideshare scooters left laying around.

From The Verge ● May 16, 2022

Some also show scenes of playful visitors engaging with the finished pieces as tactile elements of the open city.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 3, 2021

Mostly, though, the guerrillas are symbols of resistance, especially after Manila is declared an open city and the Americans no longer actively defend it.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly