metropolis

noun

me·​trop·​o·​lis mə-ˈträ-p(ə-)ləs How to pronounce metropolis (audio)
1
: the chief or capital city of a country, state, or region
2
: the city or state of origin of a colony (as of ancient Greece)
3
a
: a city regarded as a center of a specified activity
an industrial metropolis
a cattle metropolis
b
: a large important city
one of Europe's great metropolises

Examples of metropolis in a Sentence

a big, teeming metropolis where ambitious people from all over come to make their mark
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The ancient metropolis is where cylinder seals were invented and used for administrative purposes. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024 But for those who aren’t from Senegal’s capital city, there’s luckily no shortage of restaurants serving homestyle cooking and cuisine inspired by groups from Central Africa to Western Europe that have left a cultural imprint on or established new homes in the coastal metropolis. Kayla Stewart, Saveur, 30 Oct. 2024 When Reuss was a small child, his family moved from Dolina to Vienna along with hundreds of thousands of other immigrants from the empire’s distant outposts, all landing in the imperial metropolis as the 19th century came to a close. Tomas Weber, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024 The metropolis is located at the intersection of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers in southwest-central China. Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 17 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for metropolis 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin, from Greek mētropolis, from mētr-, mētēr mother + polis city — more at mother, police entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of metropolis was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near metropolis

Cite this Entry

“Metropolis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metropolis. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

metropolis

noun
me·​trop·​o·​lis mə-ˈträp-(ə-)ləs How to pronounce metropolis (audio)
1
: the chief or capital city of a country, state, or region
2
: a large important city

More from Merriam-Webster on metropolis

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