metropolitan

American  

[me-truh-pol-i-tn] / ˌmɛ trəˈpɒl ɪ tn /

adjective

1. of, noting, or characteristic of a metropolis or its inhabitants, especially in culture, sophistication, or in accepting and combining a wide variety of people, ideas, etc.

2. of or relating to a large city, its surrounding suburbs, and other neighboring communities.

   the New York metropolitan area.

3. pertaining to or constituting a mother country.

4. pertaining to an ecclesiastical metropolis.

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noun

1. an inhabitant of a metropolis.

2. a person who has the sophistication, fashionable taste, or other habits and manners associated with those who live in a metropolis.

3. Eastern Church. the head of an ecclesiastical province.

4. an archbishop in the Church of England.

5. Roman Catholic Church. an archbishop who has authority over one or more suffragan sees.

6. (in ancient Greece) a citizen of the mother city or parent state of a colony.

metropolitan British  

/ ˌmɛtrəˈpɒlɪtən /

adjective

1. of or characteristic of a metropolis

2. constituting a city and its suburbs

   the metropolitan area

3. of, relating to, or designating an ecclesiastical metropolis

4. of or belonging to the home territories of a country, as opposed to overseas territories

   metropolitan France

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noun

1. 1. Eastern Churches the head of an ecclesiastical province, ranking between archbishop and patriarch

   2. Church of England an archbishop

   3. RC Church an archbishop or bishop having authority in certain matters over the dioceses in his province

Other Word Forms

• intermetropolitan adjective
• metropolitanism noun
• nonmetropolitan adjective
• supermetropolitan adjective
• unmetropolitan adjective

Etymology

Origin of metropolitan

1300–50; Middle English < Late Latin mētropolītānus of, belonging to a metropolis < Greek mētropolī́t ( ēs ) ( see metropolis, -ite ¹) + Latin -ānus -an

Explanation

The adjective metropolitan describes something that's characteristic of a city. You really enjoy metropolitan life — there's always something happening, and you can walk or take the subway anywhere you want to go. The word metropolitan comes from metropolis, which in Greek means mother city, made up of mētēr meaning mother, and polis meaning city. A person who lives in a metropolis, or city, is also called a metropolitan. You may have loved cities even when you were growing up in the suburbs, looking forward to the day you could become a true metropolitan in the biggest city you could find.

Example Sentences

The program is also underway in the metropolitan areas of Phoenix; Austin, Texas; and Atlanta.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

But of the 10 fastest-growing metropolitan areas in 2025, nine had more homes for sale than before the pandemic, a Barron’s analysis of Realtor.com and government data suggest.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Conscious that his status as a member of the metropolitan elite may make him less likely to appeal to rural voters, Magyar has toured the countryside indefatigably for the past two years, drawing large crowds.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

But the scale of the demonstrations — stretching from major international metropolitan hubs to small towns in rural America — signals a level of mobilization that is increasingly difficult to ignore.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

With the remaining insurance money Milton rented space in three malls in the Detroit metropolitan area.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Related Words

• cosmopolitan
• urban
• urbane