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.
In 20 years, the idea of these dark celestial bodies had spread from Thornhill Rectory to the Royal Society’s assembly rooms in London, then to the global metropolis of Paris, and finally to Berlin. Big Think, 9 Sep. 2025 So, any Gotham within a contemporary film in the Batman series that's going to be authentic has to be reflective of a modern American metropolis. EW.com, 3 Sep. 2025 About 120 miles west of London, just over an hour by train, lies Bristol—a vast metropolis that made Afar’s annual Where to Go list in 2022. Lottie Gross, AFAR Media, 29 Aug. 2025 The Cycle of Love rewinds to the mid-1970s when Mahanandia first met Lotta Von Schedvin who was visiting the metropolis of Delhi in Northern India. Matthew Carey, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Metropolis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metropolis. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!