English

Manhattan, one of the five boroughs of New York City

Proper noun

New York City

1. New York City is the largest city in the United States of America. It consists of five boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. The city is situated on the Atlantic Coast at the mouth of the Hudson River in the northeastern state of New York.

   Lagos and New York City are both the largest cities in their respective countries.

2. Manhattan.

Usage notes

New York City may alone refer to the one borough or island of Manhattan but usually refers to the entire city spanning all five boroughs. The city’s official name is New York but is commonly referred to as New York City (NYC); the City of New York; or New York, New York (NY, NY), in order to distinguish it from New York State.

Synonyms

• New York
• The Big Apple (informal)
• Gotham (informal; coined by Washington Irving in 1807)

Translations

Quotations

• 1971, Carol King and Toni Stern, “Where You Lead”, Tapestry, Ode Records

  I always wanted a real home with flowers on the window sill,

  But if you want to live in New York City, honey, you know I will.

• 2007, Pulitzer Prize winning author Frank McCourt recently described New York City as, “an urban oasis of togetherness and a beacon of man’s compassion toward fellow man.”