Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

city state

/ˈsɪti steɪt/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.39 in modern English

Syllables: city s-tate
IPA: /ˈsɪti steɪt/

14

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A sovereign city, as in Ancient Greece, often part of a league of such cities.

Example Sentences

"Singapore is the world's most populous city state and the only island city-state in the world."
"The Vatican City State, a sovereign city-state governed by Holy See, has a large number of embassies across the world."

Etymology

From city + state, a calque of German Stadtstaat.

Inflected Forms

city states (plural) city-state (alternative)

Synonyms

polis civitas city-state

Questions

How do you pronounce city state?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɪti steɪt/.
What does city state mean?: A sovereign city, as in Ancient Greece, often part of a league of such cities.
Where does city state come from?: From city + state, a calque of German Stadtstaat.

How to pronounce city state

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “city state”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsɪti steɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “city state”.
Repeat and practice — Say “city state” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.