From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcitizencit‧i‧zen /ˈsɪtɪzən/ ●●● S2 W2 noun [countable] 1 LIVE SOMEWHEREsomeone who lives in a particular town, country, or state We need our schools to teach students to be good citizens. The mayor urged citizens to begin preparing for a major storm. → senior citizen2 COUNTRY/NATIONsomeone who legally belongs to a particular country and has rights and responsibilities there, whether they are living there or not → national At the time, there were over 2,000 British citizens living in Iraq.3 → second-class citizenCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1 : someone who lives in a particular town, country, or stateadjectivesa good citizenOne 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 stateIn 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 countryShe 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 areaThere 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 lifePicasso 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 thereNorthern 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 contextsEmployers cannot hire illegal aliens.
Examples from the Corpus
citizen• Claire is now a citizen of the US.• It was at this time that the idea of a citizen militia to defend the constitution against its enemies gathered support.• People who write poison warnings or mechanical instructions are addressing citizens in every state at once.• Why is the average citizen unaware of this problem?• New educational policies take their justification from the experiences of racism suffered by black citizens.• Fahd became a British citizen after living there for several years.• The police asked if we were both British citizens.• This arises due to an inadequate tax base and/or tax evasion by citizens with relatively high incomes.• The Richmond Plan denies certain citizens the opportunity to compete for a fixed percentage of public contracts based solely upon their race.• The court's ruling should be of interest to every citizen of Texas.• Parents have the responsibility of teaching our children to be good citizens.• Noriko's a Japanese citizen, but her parents are originally from South Korea.• Eventually he decided to move from the town where he had been known as a prosperous citizen.• Laurent is a Swiss citizen.• The citizens of Ketchikan were excited to see the huge ship sail into their harbor.Origin citizen (1200-1300) Anglo-French citezein, from Old French citeien, from cité ( → CITY); probably influenced by denizen 