citizencit‧i‧zen /ˈsɪtɪzən/ ●●● S2 W2 noun [countable] 
We need our schools to teach students to be good citizens. The mayor urged citizens to begin preparing for a major storm. → senior citizen2someone who legally belongs to a particular country and has rights and responsibilities there, whether they are living there or not: At the time, there were over 2,000 British citizens living in Iraq.3second-class citizen someone who is made to feel unimportant because of the way people treat themCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesa good citizen· One of the aims of education is to produce good citizens.a law-abiding citizen (=never breaking the law)· Most of the people in this town are law-abiding citizens.a respectable/decent citizen (=good and honest)· There are gangs on the streets who are terrorizing respectable citizens.an upstanding/upright citizen (=honest and responsible)· The rest of his family are honest upright citizens.a model citizen (=a very good one)· His neighbours described him as a model citizen.an ordinary citizen (also a regular citizen American English)· The government is not aware of the views of ordinary citizens.a senior citizen (=someone over 60 years old, or someone who has retired)· There are special clubs for senior citizens.somebody’s fellow citizens (=people who live in the same town, country etc as you)· 70% of our fellow citizens live in poverty.a private citizen (=an ordinary citizen without a public position)· Laws exist to protect private citizens.a leading/prominent citizen (=an important one)· The protests were led by leading citizens in the community.THESAURUScitizen someone who lives in a particular town, country, or state: · In order to become a US citizen, you need to have a Permanent Resident card.· All British citizens have the right to live in the UK.· Good citizens understand that they have a responsibility to the community.national a citizen of a country who is living in another country: · She insisted that foreign nationals were safe in the country.· Russians nationals were ordered to leave.· Her husband is a French national.resident someone who lives in a particular street or area: · There have been complaints by local residents about the building work.· She was a resident of Chicago for many years.native someone who was born in a particular country but moved to another country – used when describing a person or their life: · Picasso was a native of Spain, although he spent much of his life in France.subject someone who was born in a country that has a king or queen, and has a right to live there: · Northern Ireland citizens are British subjects.alien formal someone who is not a legal citizen of the country they are living or working in – used in official contexts: · Employers cannot hire illegal aliens.
WORD ORIGINcitizen
Origin:
1200-1300 Anglo-French citezein, from Old French citeien, from cité ( ➔ CITY); probably influenced by denizenEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Claire is now a citizen of the US.
- Fahd became a British citizen after living there for several years.
- Laurent is a Swiss citizen.
- Noriko's a Japanese citizen, but her parents are originally from South Korea.
- Parents have the responsibility of teaching our children to be good citizens.
- The citizens of Ketchikan were excited to see the huge ship sail into their harbor.
- The court's ruling should be of interest to every citizen of Texas.
- The police asked if we were both British citizens.
- Eventually he decided to move from the town where he had been known as a prosperous citizen.
- It was at this time that the idea of a citizen militia to defend the constitution against its enemies gathered support.
- New educational policies take their justification from the experiences of racism suffered by black citizens.
- People who write poison warnings or mechanical instructions are addressing citizens in every state at once.
- The Richmond Plan denies certain citizens the opportunity to compete for a fixed percentage of public contracts based solely upon their race.
- This arises due to an inadequate tax base and/or tax evasion by citizens with relatively high incomes.
- Why is the average citizen unaware of this problem?
THESAURUS
someone who lives in a particular town, country, or state: · In order to become a US citizen, you need to have a Permanent Resident card.· All British citizens have the right to live in the UK.· Good citizens understand that they have a responsibility to the community.
a citizen of a country who is living in another country: · She insisted that foreign nationals were safe in the country.· Russians nationals were ordered to leave.· Her husband is a French national.
someone who lives in a particular street or area: · There have been complaints by local residents about the building work.· She was a resident of Chicago for many years.
someone who was born in a particular country but moved to another country – used when describing a person or their life: · Picasso was a native of Spain, although he spent much of his life in France.
someone who was born in a country that has a king or queen, and has a right to live there: · Northern Ireland citizens are British subjects.
formal someone who is not a legal citizen of the country they are living or working in – used in official contexts: · Employers cannot hire illegal aliens.
Longman Language Activatorsomeone from a particular country someone from a particular country, especially someone who has rights in that country, such as the right to vote and the right to live there permanently: · Noriko's a Japanese citizen, but her parents are originally from South Korea.· Fahd became a British citizen after living there for several years.citizen of: · Claire is now a citizen of the US.
someone who is a citizen of a particular country - use this about someone who is living in another country: Polish/American etc national: · There are many Russian nationals living in Frankfurt.foreign national : · During the war, foreign nationals were forced to leave the country.
formal someone who was born in a particular country, used especially to talk about the life of a famous person who moved to another country: a native of Spain/France/Scotland etc: · Picasso was a native of Spain, although he spent much of his life in France.
someone who lives in a place all the people in a country or town or area, or the number of people who live in it: · In Ghana 46% of the population is under 16 years of age.· The patients have been isolated to keep the disease from spreading to the rest of the population.population of: · The population of Singapore is almost 3 million.the adult/Muslim/black etc population (=all the people in a place who are adult, Muslim etc): · Ninety percent of the adult population is literate.population growth: · The U.S. has a rate of population growth that is five times that of Europe.
someone who lives in a particular area of a town, a particular street or building etc: · Local residents are protesting about the new road.· Parking spaces are for residents only.resident of: · Residents of Glacier Bay are complaining about the pollution caused by cruise ships.
written one of the people who live in a place, especially in a town or city or in an area of a country: · Copenhagen has about 1.4 million inhabitants.· This is a poor rural area, with only one doctor per 10,000 inhabitants.inhabitant of: · Nearly 36% of the inhabitants of Saudi Arabia are resident foreigners.
someone who lives in a particular country or city and who has the right to be protected by its laws: · The police asked if we were both British citizens.citizen of: · The court's ruling should be of interest to every citizen of Texas.
informal someone who lives in a particular area, especially in a village or small town: · If you get lost just ask one of the locals for directions.· Denver International Airport was built in an area that locals call "Tornado Alley."
someone who lives in a house, flat, or room and regularly pays money to the person who owns it: · Tenants are not allowed to keep pets.· Have you found any tenants for your house yet?tenant of: · Twelve tenants of the Lockwood housing complex are taking part in the lawsuit against their landlord.
formal someone who lives in a particular house, room etc: · They have left all the furniture and carpets in the house for the next occupant.occupant of: · Occupants of the building are understandably upset about the high-rise going up next door.
especially British formal the person who lives in a particular house, flat etc - used especially in official documents: · The document has to be signed by the occupier of every household.owner-occupier (=someone who lives in a house that they own): · The new law affects everyone from tenants to owner-occupiers.
someone who lives in an empty building without paying rent and without having permission to live there: · Police have removed over 50 squatters from the housing estate.· Squatters insist that without their work, the buildings would have deteriorated to the point of being unusable.
someone who goes to live in a place that people have never lived in before: · Many of the earliest settlers here dies from disease and hunger.· Settlers found a plentiful supply of fruit and game in the nearby forests.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadjectives Brown made a citizen’s arrest when a youth attempted to rob an elderly woman. The majority of residents here are decent citizens. a law-abiding citizen It’s time you started acting like a responsible adult. Why should old people be treated like second-class citizens?COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
· One of the aims of education is to produce good citizens.
(=never breaking the law)· Most of the people in this town are law-abiding citizens.
(=good and honest)· There are gangs on the streets who are terrorizing respectable citizens.
(=honest and responsible)· The rest of his family are honest upright citizens.
(=a very good one)· His neighbours described him as a model citizen.
(also a regular citizen American English)· The government is not aware of the views of ordinary citizens.
(=someone over 60 years old, or someone who has retired)· There are special clubs for senior citizens.
(=people who live in the same town, country etc as you)· 70% of our fellow citizens live in poverty.
(=an ordinary citizen without a public position)· Laws exist to protect private citizens.
(=an important one)· The protests were led by leading citizens in the community.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Brown made a citizen’s arrest when a youth attempted to rob an elderly woman. The majority of residents here are decent citizens. a law-abiding citizen It’s time you started acting like a responsible adult. Why should old people be treated like second-class citizens?· It would have an elite of politically conscious and publicly conscientious active citizens and a majority of couldn't-care-less passive citizens.· The active influential citizen described ill normative political theory is not excused from the obligations of the subject.· One is a shift by the government from an emphasis on the adult active citizen to the young novice citizen.· There are now 92,000 such schemes, entirely due to the endeavours of individual active citizens and communities.· Douglas Hurd's active citizen and John Patten's lager louts are both given an airing.· Wringe further argues that the picture of the active citizen heavily engaged in voluntary service is something of a contradiction.
· The inhibitions of the average citizen were hot to trot.· The average citizen can enhance his or her own knowledge about agencies like ours.· Why is the average citizen unaware of this problem?· The surprising part was the level of sophistication with which the average citizen was mulling his market strategies.· In the face of the need for such massive expenditures, the average citizen is overwhelmed.· But our instinctive need to fill the vacuum inspires us to the ultimate irony: We turn 12 average citizens into killers.· Most were invisible to the average citizen.
· New statistics hurled at us: 70 percent of our fellow citizens live below the poverty line.· A group called New York Pride is trying to persuade fellow citizens to show more civility.· Thus social order was apparently being maintained by one's fellow citizens within one's own community.· Is he further aware that since 1979, 2 million of our fellow citizens have lost their jobs in the manufacturing sector?· Mr. Kinnock For 2.6 million of our fellow citizens the unemployment figures are not disappointing - they are absolutely devastating.· It seemed unstoppable, spreading like green fly and just as blind to the disapproval of fellow citizens.· It employed an army of staff and volunteers who spied on their fellow citizens.· The Prime Minister I believe that the right hon. Gentleman speaks for all our millions of fellow citizens.
· But once the sentence has been paid, the criminal is entitled to society's help to become a good citizen.· Clearly, the company has been a good corporate citizen.· Fortunately, the good citizens of Geneva had enough else to think about at this juncture.· The plan was to love her for ever and then, somehow, become a good citizen.· There was a slight hiccup in the 1950s when a good citizen of Edinburgh objected to our bearing the arms.· But he had always been a good citizen.· How did the good citizens of San Diego react?· Not to hurt or be hurt, not to be a good citizen or a hero or a moral man.
· The competitive market is advocated because it is held to promote efficiency in resource allocation and the liberty of the individual citizen.· These are basic issues that have to be driven home to every individual citizen.· There are now 92,000 such schemes, entirely due to the endeavours of individual active citizens and communities.· Every activity of the individual citizen is subject to scrutiny by the state, in the name of the public interest.· The individual citizen was beginning to learn he had recourse against the all powerful government.· All public services are paid for by individual citizens, either directly or through their taxes.· We will examine whether certain regulations affecting individual citizens within their own homes could be made advisory, rather than mandatory.
· The unpaid volunteers will not wear uniforms and will not have any special powers over and above those of ordinary citizens.· New methods and new systems must be devised to enable ordinary citizens to reach responsible and informed judgments.· The fact of production and the images presented have strong economic implications for the film and television industry and the ordinary citizen.· Interactive telecommunications increasingly give ordinary citizens immediate access to the major political decisions that affect their lives and property.· When the Senate adopts a measure by 100 votes to none, the ordinary citizen should count the spoons.· Television gives ordinary citizens an unmediated, direct personal view of world events. 2.· There seems to be no animosity towards foreigners on the part of the ordinary citizen.· Together leaders and ordinary citizens produced widely differing evaluations.
· Crime prevention has becomes the responsibility of the private citizen.· He had made up his mind to appoint a nonpolitical committee of outside experts and prominent private citizens.· Two days later Diana took a well-earned break, her last as a private citizen.· Liem had previously visited Pyongyang in 1977 as a private citizen.· That's something that ought to be taken care of by private citizens.· He visited it as a private citizen.· Unfortunately, the social class of the private citizens could not be determined.· Shootings and other racially motivated violence perpetrated by private citizens continued to the end of the Carter years.
· He says I don't think he's a responsible enough citizen.· As responsible citizens, you have the duty to, and can, avert these insurance crises.· And support us as we live as responsible citizens of this city and nation.· Aim: emphasis upon the responsible citizen, and the idea of service.
· They also agreed to exchange visits from some 100 senior citizens around Aug. 15, in an effort to reunite dispersed families.· Popular with senior citizens and the motor-coach touring set, the Heritage Plantation is billed as an Americana theme park and arboretum.· There are reductions for children, senior citizens and pre-booked parties.· I think the party is inexcusably pandering to the senior citizens.· The course costs £15, or £ for senior citizens, students and the unemployed.· Starting soon, some one from the Massachusetts center will check up several times a week on senior citizens with congestive heart failure.· This choice of language is for example particularly important in communicating to youth and senior citizen markets.
· In the early years few groups of Soviet citizens visited Britain.· For many pro-reform Soviet citizens, Nevzorov personified the hardline editorial shift in television broadcasting.· New customs rates On July 1 new customs duties for Soviet citizens bringing goods into the country came into force.· This latter has the inestimable advantage for Soviet citizens of accepting roubles.· Given a real cause to fight for, hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens would volunteer to help overthrow Stalin.· To us he will always be a Soviet citizen.
NOUN· Again, the citizens charter builds on past achievements.· Ministers' views were set out in the citizens charter as they are set out in the Bill.· That could be done by means of a supplement to the citizens charter and could be delivered to every household in the country.· The citizens charter is nothing more than a glossy confection.· The citizens charter is simply the most comprehensive programme ever launched by any Government anywhere to improve public services.· Access is another important principle of the citizens charter.· The citizens charter is all about achieving what I have described.· Performance pay will play a crucial part in delivering the citizens charter programme.
· They are not in any way second class citizens.· Beaches Miserable at being a second class citizen?
· The audit report was also critical of the amount of funds allocated to staff support of citizen participation activities.· Another source of increasing tension in the federal aid system concerned citizen participation in decisionmaking.· Crawford was eager to allow the bureaucrats to steamroller over any meaningful citizen participation in the process.· The expansion of citizen participation is greatly threatened today by government secrecy, industrial monopolies, and a closed media.· The hands-off policy was extended to the structure of citizen participation and the social targeting provisions.· The Senate would even have required citizen participation in the execution of the program.· The city chose existing citizen advisory boards and commissions as its vehicle for citizen participation.· As part of the citizen participation requirements, councils had been set up in four model cities and twelve antipoverty target neighborhoods.
VERB· Problems of political obligation can only be overcome by participatory political associations which would allow citizens to create their own political obligations.· Six more states, including Texas, implemented laws on Jan. 1 that allow citizens to carry concealed weapons.· In most states, recently passed laws now allow citizens to carry concealed handguns.· He noted the center is organizing a public forum to allow citizens to express their views.· The United States is one of the few democracies that does not allow its citizens to elect their national chief executive directly.
· Under Augustus legislation was passed to allow freed slaves to marry and their children to become Roman citizens.· I think this is one of the major rights and responsibilities when you become a citizen.· But once the sentence has been paid, the criminal is entitled to society's help to become a good citizen.· Because Dred Scott was property, he could never become a citizen of any state.· We could become a country of citizens, not subjects, striving for excellence rather than settling for second best.· The plan was to love her for ever and then, somehow, become a good citizen.· But, more tellingly, many legal residents are hastily becoming citizens.· The result, according to the story, was that she could never become a citizen.
· That privilege aims to protect all citizens against being compelled to condemn themselves.· That is why the Supreme Court has been so determined to protect the rights of citizens to protect themselves against the government.· The motion accused the government of failing to protect the lives of citizens.· The national government seemingly could find no constitutional means to intercede to protect its black citizens.· There is a basic assumption in international law - and in common sense - that a state will protect its citizens.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1someone who lives in a particular town, country, or state: - But they remained second-class citizens as the Service restocked itself with young men of the right background from Oxford and Cambridge.
- Here we are, second-class citizens in our own country.
- One danger of treating all crime as sickness is that it makes the criminal a second-class citizen.
- Private car-owners have become second-class citizens.
- Some speak resentfully of a takeover by the Wessis, with themselves marked out for the role of second-class citizens.
- They want to treat all Arabs as slaves and second-class citizens.
- We did not have a chance to mingle with Okinawansthey were considered second-class citizens.
- Women were very definitely second-class citizens.
We need our schools to teach students to be good citizens. The mayor urged citizens to begin preparing for a major storm. → senior citizen2someone who legally belongs to a particular country and has rights and responsibilities there, whether they are living there or not: At the time, there were over 2,000 British citizens living in Iraq.3second-class citizen someone who is made to feel unimportant because of the way people treat themCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesa good citizen· One of the aims of education is to produce good citizens.a law-abiding citizen (=never breaking the law)· Most of the people in this town are law-abiding citizens.a respectable/decent citizen (=good and honest)· There are gangs on the streets who are terrorizing respectable citizens.an upstanding/upright citizen (=honest and responsible)· The rest of his family are honest upright citizens.a model citizen (=a very good one)· His neighbours described him as a model citizen.an ordinary citizen (also a regular citizen American English)· The government is not aware of the views of ordinary citizens.a senior citizen (=someone over 60 years old, or someone who has retired)· There are special clubs for senior citizens.somebody’s fellow citizens (=people who live in the same town, country etc as you)· 70% of our fellow citizens live in poverty.a private citizen (=an ordinary citizen without a public position)· Laws exist to protect private citizens.a leading/prominent citizen (=an important one)· The protests were led by leading citizens in the community.THESAURUScitizen someone who lives in a particular town, country, or state: · In order to become a US citizen, you need to have a Permanent Resident card.· All British citizens have the right to live in the UK.· Good citizens understand that they have a responsibility to the community.national a citizen of a country who is living in another country: · She insisted that foreign nationals were safe in the country.· Russians nationals were ordered to leave.· Her husband is a French national.resident someone who lives in a particular street or area: · There have been complaints by local residents about the building work.· She was a resident of Chicago for many years.native someone who was born in a particular country but moved to another country – used when describing a person or their life: · Picasso was a native of Spain, although he spent much of his life in France.subject someone who was born in a country that has a king or queen, and has a right to live there: · Northern Ireland citizens are British subjects.alien formal someone who is not a legal citizen of the country they are living or working in – used in official contexts: · Employers cannot hire illegal aliens.