second city

noun

The second-most important city of a country or region.

“Kharkiv is Ukraine's second city.”

Similar
Windy City
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

second city1

nounsecond city (plural second cities)

plural second cities

  1. governmentThe second-most important city of a country or region.

    Kharkiv is Ukraine's second city.

Second City2

proper nounthe Second City
  1. Nickname for the city of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States of America.

    Synonyms: Windy City

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounNickname for the city of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States of America.

Similar
Windy City
Also see
chi-townwindy city

Origin

So named because Chicago was the second largest city in the United States (after New York City) from 1889 to 1984.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

second city. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/second%20city

MLA

“second city.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/second%20city. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “second city,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/second%20city.

Source: second city on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.