Ethnic, inner city, urban. What do these terms mean in education? The author is a teacher educator who studies how people use language to talk about race. One word that she has examined over the past five years is "urban". A quick look in the dictionary, and there is no surprise: Urban means related to the city, characteristic of a city or city life. So what does that mean when people say urban education? What is unique about city schools or city education? That depends on the city one is talking about. In large, densely populated cities, such as Boston, New York, and Los Angeles, city schools are often characterized by large, diverse populations, many poor students, budget shortfalls, and bureaucracy. So why, then, do people use the term "urban" when what they really mean are schools with majority black and Latina/o populations? In this article, the author explores preconceptions hiding behind the language.