citi|zen|ship /s I t I z ə nʃ I p/
1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft adj N ] If you have citizenship of a country, you are legally accepted as belonging to it. □ After 15 years in the U.S.A., he has finally decided to apply for American citizenship.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Citizenship is the fact of belonging to a community because you live in it, and the duties and responsibilities that this brings. □ Their German peers had a more developed sense of citizenship.
cit|ric acid /s I tr I k æ s I d/ N‑UNCOUNT Citric acid is a weak acid found in many kinds of fruit, especially citrus fruit such as oranges and lemons.
cit|rus /s I trəs/ ADJ [ADJ n] A citrus fruit is a juicy fruit with a sharp taste such as an orange, lemon, or grapefruit. □ …citrus groves.
city ◆◆◆ /s I ti/ (cities ) N‑COUNT A city is a large town. □ …the city of Bologna. □ …a busy city centre.
City N‑PROPER The City is the part of London where many important financial institutions have their main offices. People often refer to these financial institutions as the City . □ …a foreign bank in the City. □ The City fears that profits could fall.
ci ty ce n|tre (city centres ) N‑COUNT The city centre is the busiest part of a city, where most of the shops and businesses are. [mainly BRIT ] □ There is high demand for city centre offices.
ci ty fa |thers also City Fathers N‑PLURAL You can refer to the members of a city council or city's government as the city fathers . □ The city fathers have just given final approval to a new stadium.
ci ty ha ll (city halls ) also City Hall N‑COUNT ; N‑PROPER The city hall is the building which a city council uses as its main offices. □ They massed in front of the city hall. □ …at Sheffield City Hall.
ci ty sli ck|er (city slickers ) N‑COUNT If you refer to someone as a city slicker , you mean that they live and work in a city and are used to city life. [INFORMAL ] □ …the city slickers in the capital.
civ|ic /s I v I k/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] You use civic to describe people or things that have an official status in a town or city. □ …the businessmen and civic leaders of Manchester.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] You use civic to describe the duties or feelings that people have because they belong to a particular community. □ …a sense of civic pride.
civ|ics /s I v I ks/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Civics is the study of the rights and duties of the citizens of a society. [mainly AM ] □ …my high-school civics class.
civ|il ◆◆◇ /s I v ə l/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] You use civil to describe events that happen within a country and that involve the different groups of people in it. □ …civil unrest.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use civil to describe people or things in a country that are not connected with its armed forces. □ …the U.S. civil aviation industry.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] You use civil to describe things that are connected with the state rather than with a religion. □ They were married on August 9 in a civil ceremony in Venice. □ …Jewish civil and religious law.
4 ADJ [ADJ n] You use civil to describe the rights that people have within a society. □ …a United Nations covenant on civil and political rights.
5 ADJ Someone who is civil is polite in a formal way, but not particularly friendly. [FORMAL ] □ [+ to ] As visitors, the least we can do is be civil to the people in their own land. ● civ|il|ly ADV □ The man nodded civilly to Sharpe, then consulted a notebook. ● ci|vil|ity /s I v I l I ti/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ to ] …civility to underlings.
ci v|il de|fe nce in AM, use civil defense N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Civil defence is the organization and training of the ordinary people in a country so that they can help the armed forces, medical services, or police force, for example if the country is attacked by an enemy. □ …a civil defence exercise.
ci v|il dis|obe di|ence N‑UNCOUNT Civil disobedience is the refusal by ordinary people in a country to obey laws or pay taxes, usually as a protest. □ The opposition threatened a campaign of civil disobedience.
ci v|il en|gi|nee r (civil engineers ) N‑COUNT A civil engineer is a person who plans, designs, and constructs roads, bridges, harbours, and public buildings.
ci v|il en|gi|nee r|ing N‑UNCOUNT Civil engineering is the planning, design, and building of roads, bridges, harbours, and public buildings. □ London's sewerage network was the biggest civil engineering project in the world at the time.
ci|vil|ian ◆◇◇ /s I v I liən/ (civilians )
1 N‑COUNT In a military situation, a civilian is anyone who is not a member of the armed forces. □ The safety of civilians caught up in the fighting must be guaranteed.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] In a military situation, civilian is used to describe people or things that are not military. □ …the country's civilian population. □ …civilian casualties. □ …a soldier in civilian clothes.
civi|li|sa|tion /s I v I la I ze I ʃ ə n/ → see civilization
civi|lise /s I v I la I z/ → see civilize
civi|lised /s I v I la I zd/ → see civilized
ci|vil|ity /s I v I l I ti/ → see civil
civi|li|za|tion /s I v I la I ze I ʃ ə n/ (civilizations ) in BRIT, also use civilisation 1 N‑VAR A civilization is a human society with its own social organization and culture. □ The ancient civilizations of Central and Latin America were founded upon corn.