metropolitan

1 of 2

noun

met·​ro·​pol·​i·​tan ˌme-trə-ˈpä-lə-tən 

1

: the primate of an ecclesiastical province

2

: one who lives in a metropolis or displays metropolitan manners or customs

metropolitan

2 of 2

adjective

1

: of or constituting a metropolitan or his see

2

: of, relating to, or characteristic of a metropolis and sometimes including its suburbs

3

: of, relating to, or constituting a mother country as distinguished from a colony

Synonyms

Noun

• cosmopolitan
• sophisticate

Examples of metropolitan in a Sentence

Noun

a TV series about the lives and loves of a group of young, attractive metropolitans

Adjective

the greater New York metropolitan area

This is one of the best seafood restaurants in metropolitan Los Angeles.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

From Atlantic beaches to Western mountains to central metropolitans, there’s a destination suited to every type of traveler. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 21 Apr. 2025

Han, looking almost cartoonishly mid-century metropolitan, wears a dark coat, with the lapel snapped up, over a white shirt and a dark tie. —E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 18 Jan. 2025

Adjective

But suburban newspapers, which dispense local business and social news by and large, offer far less hope for a revitalized press than metropolitan dailies. —David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025

The Miami region continues to have one of the lowest unemployment rates among major metropolitan areas in the country. —Tom Hudson, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Late Latin metropolitanus of the see of a metropolitan, from metropolita, noun, metropolitan, from Late Greek mētropolitēs, from mētropolis see of a metropolitan, from Greek, capital

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing metropolitan

• metropolitan borough

Rhymes for metropolitan

• cosmopolitan
• neapolitan
• nonmetropolitan

Kids Definition

metropolitan

1 of 2 noun

met·​ro·​pol·​i·​tan ˌme-trə-ˈpäl-ət-ᵊn 

1

: the head of a church province

2

: one who lives in a metropolis or who has metropolitan manners or customs

metropolitan

2 of 2 adjective

1

: of, relating to, or characteristic of a metropolis

2

: of or relating to a city and the densely populated surrounding areas