metropolis

[ mi-trop-uh-lis ]

noun

, plural me·trop·o·lis·es.

1. any large, busy city.
2. the chief, and sometimes capital, city of a country, state, or region.
3. a central or principal place, as of some activity:

   the music metropolis of France.

4. the mother city or parent state of a colony, especially of an ancient Greek colony.
5. the chief see of an ecclesiastical province.

metropolis

/ mɪˈtrɒpəlɪs /

noun

1. the main city, esp of a country or region; capital
2. a centre of activity
3. the chief see in an ecclesiastical province

Word History and Origins

Origin of metropolis¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin mētropolis < Greek mētrópolis a mother state or city, equivalent to mētro-, combining form of mḗtēr mother ¹ + pólis -polis, polis

Word History and Origins

Origin of metropolis¹

C16: from Late Latin from Greek: mother city or state, from mētēr mother + polis city

Example Sentences

From Shanghai to Seoul, Tokyo to Singapore, Asia’s muggy, rapidly rising metropolises have been among the first in the world to embrace indoor farms at scale.

From MIT Technology Review

San Diego can’t afford to turn away from those water sources that supported its growth from a small farming mission to a sprawling metropolis.

From Voice of San Diego

With her family originally hailing from Louisiana, Knowles-Lawson spent her childhood in Galveston, Texas, but it was the metropolis of Houston that taught her she had to dream big to be big.

From Ozy

It is now a thriving, diverse, and welcoming metropolis, and one of the fastest growing cities in the country.

From No Straight News

Nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago is an industrious metropolis that’s an exciting place for the LGBTQ community.

From No Straight News

The town of Liqian sits on the edge of the Gobi desert, 200 miles from any metropolis, and 4,500 miles from Rome.

From The Daily Beast

But in New York City, a metropolis with an abundance of concrete and very few fields of grass, a far more subtle display appears.

From The Daily Beast

The 30-something heroine glamorized the metropolis and its coveted name brands, Arora says.

From The Daily Beast

It was the Civil War that drove Leslie from his Cincinnati home to the bustling metropolis of New York City.

From The Daily Beast

The co-owner of Metropolis Collectables, Vincent has Wolverine mutton chops, a Tony Stark goatee, and Lex Luthor swagger.

From The Daily Beast

As for Brammel, he consented, as he was ready to agree to any thing but a personal visit to the great metropolis.

From Project Gutenberg

Manila was formerly the capital of the province of that name, as well as the Philippine metropolis.

From Project Gutenberg

He settled at Shawmut, which was finally determined upon for the metropolis, and named Boston.

From Project Gutenberg

Before the close of the year, it found its way from Sunderland and Newcastle to the suburbs of the metropolis.

From Project Gutenberg

In the metropolis, an extraordinary assembly of the national union took place.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• capital
• downtown
• municipality