municipal

American  

[myoo-nis-uh-puhl] / myuˈnɪs ə pəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a town or city or its local government.

   municipal elections.

2. Archaic. pertaining to the internal affairs of a state or nation rather than to international affairs.

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noun

1. a municipal bond.

municipal British  

/ mjuːˈnɪsɪpəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a town, city, or borough or its local government

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Other Word Forms

• intermunicipal adjective
• municipalism noun
• municipalist noun
• municipally adverb
• nonmunicipal adjective
• nonmunicipally adverb
• premunicipal adjective
• quasi-municipal adjective
• quasi-municipally adverb
• supermunicipal adjective

Etymology

Origin of municipal

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin mūnicipālis, from mūnicip-, stem of mūniceps “citizen of a free town” (from mūni(a) “duties” + -ceps, combining form of capere “to take”; prince ) + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

The day after the news of the car crash broke, I shot a round of golf at a local municipal course.

From The Wall Street Journal

Surprisingly, the LFI does not appear to have been badly damaged, and pulled through the first round of the municipal elections with strong results.

From Salon

Inglewood Mayor James Butts said Sofi Stadium and Intuit Dome have helped to revitalize the city, with unemployment down, home prices up, and municipal revenue up.

From Los Angeles Times

Frederiksen suffered a staggering blow in municipal elections in November 2025, when her party -- traditionally Denmark's biggest -- came in second place and lost nearly half of the municipalities it controlled, including the capital Copenhagen.

From Barron's

Japan has a poor recycling rate, reusing not even 20 percent of municipal waste, according to the National Institute for Environmental Studies.

From Barron's