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Synonyms

polis

1 American  
[poh-lis] / ˈpoʊ lɪs /

noun

plural

poleis

  1. an ancient Greek city-state.

-polis 2 American  

  1. a combining form, meaning “city,” appearing in loanwords from Greek (metropolis ), and used in the formation of placenames (Annapolis ).

polis 1 British  
/ ˈpɒlɪs /

noun

  1. an ancient Greek city-state

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
polis 2 British  
/ ˈpolɪs /

noun

  1. the police or a police officer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does -polis mean? The combining form -polis is used like a suffix meaning “city.” It is occasionally used in technical terms. The form -polis comes from Greek pólis, meaning “city.”

Etymology

Origin of polis1

1890–95; < Greek pólis, plural (Ionic) póleis

Origin of -polis2

Combining form representing Greek pólis polis

Explanation

In ancient Greece, a polis was a completely independent, self-governing city. Each polis had an urban center with shopping areas, temples, and government buildings. A Greek polis was composed of territory that included a dense city, usually surrounded by protective walls, and the countryside around it. A temple near the center was often set on a high hill. The whole country was divided into these city-states; at the height of this era, there were about 1,000 poleis. Among the most famous were Athens and Sparta. The Greek polis means "citadel, city, or community," from a root meaning "citadel or hilltop."

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Playwrights addressed the polis not by dramatizing current events but by recasting tales from the mythological and historic past to sharpen critical thinking on contemporary concerns.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2025

They were woven into the fabric of a democratic polis.

From Salon • Apr. 13, 2025

Now protected by their own walls, and in possession of all the civic tools needed to form their own polis, the Helots were liberated from Spartan tyranny at long last.

From Slate • Jan. 16, 2024

Each hoplite had to be a free Greek citizen of his polis and had to be able to pay for his own weapons and armor.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

The house will be squashed and I will be caught by polis.

From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.