city limits
8
2.5
- noun
- /ˈsɪti ˈlɪmɪts/
:
límites de la ciudad
- Danny, stay in the city limits, would you?
The snowman cannot hear the dwindling traffic just beyond the city limits.
- The snowman cannot hear the dwindling traffic just beyond the city limits.
- So just normal redneck stuff from shooting signs with a shotgun in the city limits, you know, just nice.
- So it's OK if you, you know, I know as one couple, it's OK if you do it outside the city limits of Los Angeles, but not within.
Examples
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The districts, like Clearing, that lay outside the city limits could also offer the advantage of low taxes.
Academic text (1994) -
The city limits define the area where the town's services are available.
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- Well, we'll be inside the city limits in five minutes.
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Tomorrow we'll catch a bus outside the city limits and then walk.
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I was brought up in a very small town, south of the Chicago city limits.
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At the sign announcing the city limits, the Stone Master pulled over.
Fiction book (2000) -
Corona, California, gave a cat the freedom of its city limits.
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Pushed on by the crowd, they reached the city limits of Dearborn.
Fiction book (1999) -
Storyland sits at the city limits, between the town and the desert.
Fiction book (2002) -
The 2000 census figures indicated that the community had 3,350 residents within its city limits.
Academic text (2008)
Synonyms
738
1.4
The edge or border of an area beyond which you cannot go
232
3.1
A line or fence that marks the edge of an area and separates it from another
45
5.1
The limits of an area or subject
15
3.0
The outer part of a town where it meets the countryside
9
4.1
A line that shows the edge between two places or countries
2
3.2
A limit that shows how far something reaches
2
3.1
A line that shows the edge between two areas
2
5.5
A line or border that shows where one area ends and another begins
1
3.0
A boundary that shows where a city ends
The line that shows where a city or town ends
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'boundaries of a city' is directly and transparently composed from 'city' (urban area) + 'limits' (outer boundaries), so a learner who knows both words can readily infer the phrase. This noun + limit construction is common and cross-linguistically obvious, making it immediately understandable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
City limits comes from the idea of a clear line showing where the city ends and the limits begin, like a road sign where town rules and services change. So it means the 'boundary' of a city.