Meanings
- A large city, the county seat of Cook County, in northeastern Illinois, United States, located on Lake Michigan.
Chicago is now #1 in murder and sausages. That sounds like my kind of town!
2014, Norm Macdonald Live, season 2, episode 7, Norm Macdonald (actor)2 more examples
I am an American, Chicago born—Chicago, that somber city—and go at things as I have taught myself, free-style, and will make the record in my own way: first to knock, first admitted; sometimes an innocent knock, sometimes a not so innocent.
1953 September 18, Saul Bellow, The Adventures of Augie March […], New York, N.Y.: The Viking Press, →OCLC, page 3Homan, who was on the ground in Chicago, maintained it was a “criminal operation.” Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove was also in Chicago on Sunday to observe immigration enforcement operations.
2025 January 26, Priscilla Alvarez, Rosa Flores, “Trump administration launches nationwide immigration enforcement blitz”, in CNN, archived from the original on 09 Mar 2025Synonyms: Chi, Chiraq, Chi-Town, Hogtown, Shitcago, The Windy City
- uncountableAny of various forms of the game of pool, designed for gambling.
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA large city, the county seat of Cook County, in northeastern Illinois, United States, located on Lake Michigan.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna gambling card game in which chips are placed on the ace and king and queen and jack of separate suits (taken from a separate deck); a player plays the lowest card of a suit in their hand and successively higher cards are played until the sequence stops; the player who plays a card matching one in the layout wins all the chips on that card
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Algonquian*šek-
- Proto-Algonquian*šeka·kwa
- Miamišikaakwa
- FrenchChécago
- EnglishChicago
From French Chécagou, a transcription of Miami šikaakwa (“wild leek, ramp, Allium tricoccum; striped skunk”), from Proto-Algonquian *šeka·kwa; compare Ojibwe zhigaagawanzh /zhigaagawinzh (“onion, leek”), zhigaag (“striped skunk”). Doublet of skunk.
More words from French, Miami, Proto-Algonquian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Chicago
- Chicagolarge US city
Arabic شِيكَاغُو
- شِيكَاغُو (šīkāḡū)large US city
Bengali শিকাগো
- শিকাগো (śikagō)large US city
Bulgarian Чика́го
- Чика́го (Čikágo)large US city
Chinese Cantonese 芝加哥
- 芝加哥 (zi¹ gaa¹ go¹)large US city
Chinese Mandarin 芝加哥
- 芝加哥 (Zhījiāgē)large US city
Czech Chicago
- Chicagolarge US city
Dutch Chicago
- Chicagolarge US city
Esperanto Ĉikago, Ŝikago
- Ĉikagolarge US city
- Ŝikagolarge US city
Finnish Chicago
- Chicagolarge US city
French Chicago
- Chicagolarge US city
German Chicago, Chikago
- Chicagolarge US city
- Chikagolarge US city
Greek Σικάγο
- Σικάγο (Sikágo)large US city
Hebrew שיקגו
- שיקגו (Shiqago)large US city
Hindi शिकागो
- शिकागो (śikāgo)large US city
Indonesian Chicago
- Chicagolarge US city
Irish Chicago, Siceagó
- Chicagolarge US city
- Siceagólarge US city
Italian Chicago
- Chicagolarge US city
Japanese シカゴ
- シカゴ (Shikago)large US city
Korean 시카고
- 시카고 (sikago)large US city
Latin Sicagum
- Sicagumlarge US city
Latvian Čikāga
- Čikāgalarge US city
Lithuanian Čikaga
- Čikagalarge US city
Malay Chicago
- Chicagolarge US city
Persian شیکاگو
- شیکاگو (šikâgo)large US city
Polish Chicago
- Chicagolarge US city
Portuguese Chicago
- Chicagolarge US city
Punjabi ਸ਼ਿਕਾਗੋ
- ਸ਼ਿਕਾਗੋ (śikāgo)large US city
Russian Чика́го
- Чика́го (Čikágo)large US city
Spanish Chicago
- Chicagolarge US city
Swahili chichago
- chichagolarge US city
Swedish Chicago
- Chicagolarge US city
Tamil சிகாகோ
- சிகாகோ (cikākō)large US city
Thai ชิคาโก
- ชิคาโก (chíkaagoh)large US city
Turkish Şikago, Chicago
- Şikagolarge US city
- Chicagolarge US city
Ukrainian Чика́го, Чика́ґо
- Чика́го (Čykáho)large US city
- Чика́ґо (Čykágo)large US city
Urdu شکاگو
- شکاگو (śikāgo)large US city
Vietnamese Si-ca-gô, Chi-ca-gô
- Si-ca-gôlarge US city
- Chi-ca-gôlarge US city
- Chi Gia Khalarge US city
Welsh Sicago
- Sicagolarge US city
Yiddish שיקאַגאָ, שיקאַגע
- שיקאַגאָ (shikago)large US city
- שיקאַגע (shikage)large US city
Cite this entry
Chicago. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chicago
“Chicago.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chicago. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Chicago,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chicago.
Source: Chicago on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.