CITY-STATE

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does city-state mean? 

• CITY-STATE (noun)
  The noun CITY-STATE has 1 sense:

1. a state consisting of a sovereign city

  Familiarity information: CITY-STATE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CITY-STATE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A state consisting of a sovereign city

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

city-state; city state

Hypernyms ("city-state" is a kind of...):

body politic; commonwealth; country; land; nation; res publica; state (a politically organized body of people under a single government)

Instance hyponyms:

Carthage (an ancient city state on the north African coast near modern Tunis; founded by Phoenicians; destroyed and rebuilt by Romans; razed by Arabs in 697)

 Context examples 

The Classic period was marked by the construction of monumental architecture, intellectual and artistic development, and the growth of large city-states.

(Scientists measure severity of drought during the Maya collapse, University of Cambridge)