citizen Hear it!

citizen definition

citi·zen (sit′ə zən, -sən)

noun

  1. Historical a native or inhabitant, esp. a freeman or burgess, of a town or city
  2. a native, inhabitant, or denizen of any place citizens of the deep
  3. a member of a state or nation, esp. one with a republican form of government, who owes allegiance to it by birth or naturalization and is entitled to full civil rights
  4. a civilian, as distinguished from a person in military service, a policeman, etc.

Etymology: ME & Anglo-Fr citizein, altered (? infl. by denizen) < OFr citeain < cité: see city; citizensense infl. by use of Fr citoyen during the Fr Revolution

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

law citizen definition - legal

law citizenÂ’s arrest definition - legal

citizen Synonyms

citizen

n.

inhabitant, denizen, national, subject, native, taxpayer, burgher, burgess, cosmopolite, commoner, civilian, urbanite, member of the community, householder, occupant, settler, aborigine, registered voter, voter, dweller, immigrant, naturalized person, townsman, freeman, the man in the street, villager, member of the body politic, John Q. Public*, Jane Q. Public*, see also compatriot, resident.

citizen refers to a member of a state or nation, esp. one with a republican government, who owes it allegiance and is entitled to full civil rights either by birth or naturalization; subject is the term used when the government is headed by a monarch or other sovereign; national is applied to a person residing away from the country of which he or she is, or once was, a citizen or subject; native refers to one who was born in the country under question, and is applied specifically to an original or indigenous inhabitant of the region


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

citizen Usage Examples

Possessives

  • bureau: We maintain good links with local health services and other agencies such as CAB ( citizens ' advice bureau ) and housing.

Converse of object

  • empower: Mr Miliband said the government was also seeking to empower citizens through third sector organizations in order to improve services at local level.

Adjective modifier

  • senior: The pool was always bustling from babies to senior citizens.

Modifies a noun

  • bureau: Ricochets from lawyer to doctor to social services to citizens advice bureau.

Noun used with modifier

  • non-eu: In 2002, the no fee policy was abolished for non-EU citizens.
citizen usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

citizen quotes

I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city.

-Bible (NewTestament)

  I am, I flatter myself, completely a citizen of the world. In my travels through Holland,Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Corsica, France, I never felt myself from home.

-Boswell,James

We begin our public affection in our families. No cold relation is a zealous citizen.

-Burke, Edmund

citizen quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"citizen." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/citizen>

APA Style

citizen. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/citizen

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