city hall

noun

Updated on: 18 May 2018

Definition of city hall

1 : the chief administrative building of a city

2 a : a municipal government

b : city officialdom or bureaucracy

you can't fight city hall

See city hall defined for English-language learners

See city hall defined for kids

Recent Examples of city hall from the Web

Twelve to 24 residents between the ages of 10 and 18 visit city hall once a month and talk with Zoppo-Sassu about issues in Bristol.

— don stacom, Courant Community, "In Bristol, A Push To Encourage Youth To Engage In Government," 12 May 2018
Royal Oak is one of a bevy of Detroit suburbs, as well as towns nationwide, that built its city hall and other key facilities in the 1950s and ‘60s.

— bill laitner, Detroit Free Press, "Royal Oak 'rethinks' downtown with city hall, parking, office tower plans," 4 May 2018
Back then, Milwaukee was a two daily newspaper city and Farris' byline appeared in the Milwaukee Sentinel while the Journal's city hall reporter was Bob Wills.

— meg jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Trueman Farris was longtime Milwaukee Sentinel reporter, editor," 3 Apr. 2018
Hartford’s re-entry welcome center, a project that social service leaders have been edging toward for years, will open this summer in a city hall annex.

— jenna carlesso, Courant Community, "Hartford Re-Entry Center To Open At City Hall This Summer," 1 May 2018
Unbeknownst to him, Catwoman's in the vicinity looking for a quick score, all while other local heroes and villains have been centralized near city hall.

— nathan mattise, Ars Technica, "There’s one setpiece-and-superhero packed flick to watch this week—Batman Ninja," 29 Apr. 2018
Some showed their support by lighting up their city hall buildings in green.

— nicole chavez, CNN, "5 cool, and not-so-cool things, that have happened since the last Earth Day," 22 Apr. 2018
The Opera House reopened recently as the Cultural Center at the Opera House after an extensive renovation to the former city hall building built in 1870 and opened in 1971, Browning, who writes The Record’s weekly Havre de Grace column, said.

— erika butler, The Aegis, "Havre de Grace recognizes three homes for efforts in historic preservation, renovation," 19 Apr. 2018
The mayor and other local officials work out of a private home since city hall remains battered and boarded up.

— rick jervis, USA TODAY, "'This city has been ignored': Yabucoa, ground zero for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, still reeling," 11 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'city hall.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of city hall

1603

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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CITY HALL Defined for English Language Learners

city hall

noun

Definition of city hall for English Language Learners

: a city government's main building
: the government of a city

CITY HALL Defined for Kids

city hall

noun

Definition of city hall for Students

: the main administrative building of a city

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See words that rhyme with city hall Nglish: Translation of city hall for Spanish speakers

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