mayor

noun

may·​or ˈmā-ər  ˈmer 

especially before names (ˌ)mer

: an official elected or appointed to act as chief executive or nominal head of a city, town, or borough

mayoral

ˈmā-ə-rəl 

ˈmer-əl;

  ˌmā-ˈȯr-əl 

adjective

Examples of mayor in a Sentence

the mayor of New York

Recent Examples on the Web

Two of the Democratic standard-bearers to emerge from last week’s elections—Abigail Spanberger, the incoming governor of Virginia, and Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City—have emphasized different sides of these arguments in recent days. —Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025

The former New York mayor later reached a settlement in January. —Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025

Trump revived a slumbering American electorate and drove record turnout, winning and losing; Mamdani won more votes than any modern mayor. —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2025

Ted Goodman, a Giuliani spokesperson, said the former mayor stood by his work responding to concerns about voter fraud in the 2020 election. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 10 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English maire, from Anglo-French, from Latin major greater — more at major

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mayor

• gayer
• grayer
• greyer
• layer
• nayar
• payer
• payor
• peyer
• player
• preyer
• sayer
• slayer

Kids Definition

mayor

noun

may·​or ˈmā-ər  ˈme(-)ər 

: an official elected to act as head of a city or borough

mayoral

ˈmā-ə-rəl  ˈme- ə- 

adjective

Legal Definition

mayor

noun

may·​or ˈmā-ər, ˈmer 

: an official elected or appointed to act as chief executive or nominal head of a city, town, or borough