metropolis

noun

me·​trop·​o·​lis mə-ˈträ-p(ə-)ləs 

1

: the chief or capital city of a country, state, or region

2

: the city or state of origin of a colony (as of ancient Greece)

3

a

: a city regarded as a center of a specified activity

an industrial metropolis

a cattle metropolis

b

: a large important city

one of Europe's great metropolises

Synonyms

• asphalt jungle
• burg
• city
• cosmopolis
• megacity
• megalopolis
• municipality
• town

Examples of metropolis in a Sentence

a big, teeming metropolis where ambitious people from all over come to make their mark

Recent Examples on the Web

Models from other students show metropolises raised over water, with structures that mimic shapes found in nature that withstand hurricanes and other storms. —Manuel Bojorquez, CBS News, 1 June 2024

The metropolis of Good Day Sunshine is a gentle place where even the police puppet is friendly. —Judy Berman, TIME, 31 May 2024

Alternatively, the Rhine offers access to bustling metropolises and passes Europe's industrial hubs. —Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 25 May 2024

The removal of Mike Schmidt, a feckless progressive prosecutor in the city of Portland, Ore., is the most dramatic of several recent indications that, at long last, the tide is turning in America’s most beleaguered metropolises. —The Editors, National Review, 23 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin, from Greek mētropolis, from mētr-, mētēr mother + polis city — more at mother, police entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

metropolis

noun

me·​trop·​o·​lis mə-ˈträp-(ə-)ləs 

1

: the chief or capital city of a country, state, or region

2

: a large important city