In general, in a rural or semi-rural environment "The City" tends to refer to all of the nearest large urban conurbation. Also in general, in a suburban or inner-city environment, "The City" tends to refer to the much smaller area of the central business district. Some specific applications and exceptions of this rule of thumb include:
In British English, "The City" is a common name for the City of London or, more generally, as the collective noun for the financial entities based there.
In Canada, the term refers to the city of Toronto - most Canadians will use it to mean the GTA but locals will only use it for the municipal area, with the suburbs being known as the 905.
In Australia, the term can refer to the capital city of a state or to the CBD of a city.
The term is also used for Manhattan by residents of New York City and of the surrounding areas.
This term is also referred to the city proper of Chicago. Locals refer to the area inside the proper city limits as The City, whilst everything else is Chicago, or Chicagoland.
The term (in Slovak: "mesto") is also used for Košice Downtown by residents of Košice, Slovakia and of the surrounding areas.
