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

Yet flashbacks highlight a sartorial connection within the cityscape Rita and Rona inhabit before one leaves the metropolis behind.

From Los Angeles Times

At her husband’s Madison Square Garden rally just weeks before Election Day, she delivered short but pointed remarks in line with the Trump campaign's law and order messaging, painting New York City as a “great metropolis” in decline due to rampant crime.

From BBC

A metropolis where Little Bangladesh barely knows anything about Tehrangeles and vice versa will never truly work, no matter how much boosters claim it does.

From Los Angeles Times

More than a century ago, when it became clear the booming metropolis 300 miles to the south would very quickly dry up its own meager water supplies, its agents fanned out across the Owens Valley, buying up every acre they could find to secure rights to the precious snowmelt that flows down from the mountains each spring.

From Los Angeles Times

But she somehow made her way around the busy metropolis to the Santa Monica Mountains by the summer — crossing, at least, the 5 Freeway, perhaps using an underpass, wildlife officials had said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• capital
• downtown
• municipality