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city council

city council

88 2.4
A group of elected people who run a city and make its laws and manage its money
  • noun
  • /ˈsɪti ˈkaʊnsl/
translation icon : ayuntamiento
  • People forget that the City Council controls the budget of the police.
  • a city council member
  • a city council meeting
  • mayor and city council

There was a bill before the City Council to ban horse carriages.

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Examples

  • Following the change, Hamtramck's city council hired three city managers between 2005 and 2014.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The city council voted unanimously to improve public transportation in the area.

  • Well, the the decisions made in York about planning are for York City Council and the local Plan.

  • Trip is meeting with the city council next Thursday.

  • But I think you should call a city council meeting.

  • Claire just lost a race for city council.

  • The city, at least the city council, was divided along racial lines.

  • There was a bill before the City Council to ban horse carriages.

  • At this time, the city council decided to explore the viability of biomass.

    Academic text (1996)
  • First, I wanted to congratulate you on a very successful opening, and then I just thought you might be interested to know that there's some talk going on downtown about, um... supporting you for the city council.

Synonyms

council
vscity council
572 2.9

A group of people who meet to discuss and make decisions about a town or organization

is an elected group that passes laws and manages public finances
local government
vscity council
101 2.7

People who run a town or city and provide local services

is a narrower elected group focused on one urban area and budgets
municipality
vscity council
63 4.4

A town or city that has its own local government and the people who run it

is the elected group that governs and manages laws and budgets
local authority
vscity council
  • UK
51 3.4

A group that runs public services for a town or area

is the elected group that makes laws and sets budgets
municipal government
vscity council
4 3.7

A local group of people who run a city or town

focuses on an elected body that passes laws and manages budgets

How Responsible

city council
88 2.4
board of selectmen
  • Formal
1 8.9
town meeting
42 2.6
community
2.8

Surface Forms

city council singular
city councils plural

Morphology

city + council

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'city' (an urban area) with 'council' (a deliberative or governing body); together they literally denote the governing body of a city. This is a regular compound noun pattern found across many languages and is an institutional, non-idiomatic term that a B1 learner knowing both constituents will readily understand.

Etymology

City council may come from the simple image of people from a city sitting together in a council to talk and decide. That's why it now means the elected group who 'govern' the city and decide how to spend money and make local rules.