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civilization
citrus², citrous adj [A] of citrus trees and their fruit: citrus
fruits such as oranges, lemons, and limes
city /'sɪti/ n 1 a large group of houses and other buildings
where people live and work, usually having a centre of
entertainment and business activity. It is usually larger and
more important than a town, and in Britain it usually has a
CATHEDRAL: an office in the city centre | the city of St Albans |
Paris is the capital city of France. → compare TOWN, VIL-
LAGE 2 [+sing./pl. v] all the people who live in a city: a city
living in fear → see also GARDEN CITY, INNER CITY 3 ... city
spoken used in order to say that there is a lot or too much of
a particular thing in a particular place or situation, or that a
situation or place makes you feel something strongly: I can't
believe it. It's been sun city all week, and now it rains on our
wedding day. | It was heartbreak city – I cried all night.
City, the also the ,City of 'London n BrE an area in central
London where there are many large banks and financial
organizations, including THE BANK OF ENGLAND and The
STOCK EXCHANGE. The City has an area of about one square
mile (about 2.5 square kilometres), and it is sometimes called
'the Square Mile', especially in newspapers. Not many people
live there but many people travel there each day to work. Its
name is sometimes used to mean the people who work there
and make important financial decisions. There is a similar
area in New York City called WALL STREET: The City is
optimistic about the outlook for inflation. | a firm of City
stockbrokers
city break n a short holiday in which you spend a few days,
especially a WEEKEND, in a city
city 'centre BrE also downtown AmE– n the main shopping
or business area in a city
CULTURAL NOTE In the UK and the US, rich people who
work in cities have traditionally chosen to live outside the
centre of the city in the SUBURBS. But in the 1980s and
1990s, people started to move back into the city centres,
especially young people with quite a lot of money and no
children. As a result, many luxury apartments were built in
city centres and house prices greatly increased in these
areas. In the UK, this change can be seen especially in
London (for example in the Docklands area), Manchester,
Birmingham, and Leeds. The DOCK areas and QUAYSIDES
of cities such as Liverpool and Bristol have been
REDEVELOPed. In the US, the tendency towards city living
can be seen in places such as San Francisco and Boston.
city 'council n a group of elected officials who are respon-
sible for governing a city
city desk n AmE a department within a newspaper which
deals with local news (=news of the city in which the
newspaper is produced) rather than national or inter-
national news: Lou Grant ran the city desk for the Herald.
city-dweller n a person who lives in a city
city 'father n [usually pl.] pomp, especially AmE a member of the
governing body of a city
city 'gent n BrE a man who wears a dark or pinstripe suit to
his job in the business or government institutions of central
London
CULTURAL NOTE When people think of city gents they have
in their minds a picture of a man wearing a BOWLER HAT
and carrying a black UMBRELLA even though few people
look like this today.
city 'hall n [C;U] especially AmE (a public building used for) a
city's local government → compare TOWN HALL
City of Birmingham 'Symphony ,Orchestra, the
abbrev. CBSO a British ORCHESTRA (=a large group of musi-
cians) based in Birmingham. For many years, its CONDUCTOR
was Sir Simon RATTLE.
City of 'David, the a name for JERUSALEM, used in the
Bible
city-scape /'sɪtiskeɪp/ n [C,U] the way a city looks, or the
way it looks from a particular place: the gray New York
cityscape
city 'slicker n sometimes derog a person who lives and works
in a city and has no experience of (the hardships of) country
life: city slickers hitting the holiday trail to a working ranch
city-state /'.. .. , .. '/ n (especially in former times) a city
which, with the surrounding country area, forms an inde-
pendent state: Athens was one of the city-states of ancient
Greece. → compare NATION STATE
civet /'sɪvɪt/ n 1 [C] also 'civet cat a small catlike animal of
Asia and Africa 2 [U] a strong-smelling liquid obtained from
a civet and used in making PERFUME
civic /'sɪvɪk/ adj [A] of a city or its citizens: The President's
visit was the most important civic event of the year. | civic
duties/pride
,civic 'centre n an area in a town where there is a planned
group of public buildings, for example local government
offices, theatres etc
,civic 'duty n any of the things which a citizen is expected to
do, for example helping a police officer who asks for help
,civic-'minded adj AmE favouring or supporting the interests
of the COMMUNITY: No civic-minded person would leave a
wreck like that in their front yard.
civics /'sɪvɪks/ n [U] a social science dealing with the rights
and duties of citizens, the way government works etc
civies /'sɪviz/ n [P] CIVIES
civil /'sɪvəl/ adj 1 [A no comp.] of, belonging to, or consisting
of the ordinary population of citizens; not military or
religious: We were married in a civil ceremony, not in church. |
civil strife/unrest/disorder (=fighting between citizens) | civil
aviation (=aircraft for ordinary citizens, rather than military
aircraft) → compare CIVILIAN 2 [A no comp.] belonging to, or
judged under CIVIL LAW: It was a civil case so he was not sent to
prison. | a civil offence → compare CRIMINAL 3 polite enough
to be acceptable, though without being friendly; COURTEOUS:
Try to be civil to her, even if you don't like her. | Keep a civil
tongue in your head! (=stop speaking rudely!) | That's very
civil of you. (=that's very kind of you.) → see also CIVILLY
,civil avi'ation n [U] the operation of aircraft for anything
except military purposes: Civil aviation has been suspended
within 100 miles of the war zone.
,Civil Aviation Au,thority, the abbrev. CAA a British
organization that controls the operation of the air travel
industry, especially by making safety rules and directing the
traffic of planes in the UK. There is a similar organization in
the US called FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION.
,civil de'fence n [U] the protection of the ordinary popula-
tion of a country against military attack by an enemy,
especially from the air
,civil diso'bedience n [U] refusal to obey laws that you
think are unjust, especially in a non-violent way that you
hope will force the government to change its position. Henry
David Thoreau wrote an ESSAY called Civil Disobedience in
the mid-19th century from where many of the ideas about
and reasons for this practice come. One of the most famous
examples of civil disobedience was the action taken by
Mahatma Gandhi in India in the early 1920s.
,civil engi'neering n [U] the planning, building, and repair
of public works, such as roads, bridges, large public build-
ings etc —civil engineer n
ci-vil-ian /sɪ'vɪljən/ n, adj (a person) not of the armed forces:
a return to civilian government after years of military rule |
civilian clothes | the shooting of innocent civilians → compare
CIVIL
ci-vil-i-ty /sɪ'vɪləti/ n [C,U] (an act of) politeness and good
manners: He greeted us with civility. | We exchanged a few
civilities. (=polite remarks)
civ-i-li-za-tion also -sation BrE /ˌsɪv-əl-aɪˈzeɪʃən||-vəl-ə-/
n 1 [U] (the people or countries that have reached) an
advanced stage of human development marked by a high
level of art, religion, science, and social and political organi-
zation: the benefits of modern civilization | a danger that
threatens the whole of civilization → compare CULTURE 2 [C]
a civilized society of a particular time or place: the civilization
of ancient China 3 [U] infml life in a place which has all the
comforts of the modern world: When we get down this moun-
tain and back to civilization, I want a hot bath! 4 [U] the
process of civilizing or of being civilized 5 the end of
civilization as we know it the end of the world. This phrase
is used, not too seriously, especially in films and books about