metropolis

noun me·trop·o·lis \ mə-ˈträ-p(ə-)ləs \

|Updated on: 18 Jul 2018

Examples: metropolis in a Sentence

Definition of metropolis

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

See metropolis defined for English-language learners

See metropolis defined for kids

Examples of metropolis in a Sentence

a big, teeming metropolis where ambitious people from all over come to make their mark

Recent Examples of metropolis from the Web

The ammonia factory, a metallic metropolis of pipes and tanks, sits where the red rocks of Western Australia's Pilbara Desert meet the ocean.

— robert f. service, Science | AAAS, "Ammonia—a renewable fuel made from sun, air, and water—could power the globe without carbon," 12 July 2018
Once the capital of Soviet Ukraine, a center of manufacturing and trade, of literature and art, Kharkiv is the closest metropolis to the front line, an ancient city on the brink.

— linda kinstler, Longreads, "Angrily Experiencing the Best Days of Our Lives," 27 June 2018
The work itself sounded just so-so, but the man painted it as something bigger—a vision of a new kind of city, with fewer cars clogging the landscape and a metropolis made safe for people on two wheels.

— mark harris, WIRED, "The Bike Share War Is Shaking Up Seattle Like Nowhere Else," 14 June 2018
Flight 8633 left the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing at 6:26 a.m. and was scheduled to land at 9:05 a.m. in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, around 1,500 miles west, according to the flight tracking website FlightView.com.

— BostonGlobe.com, "A windshield shattered on a plane in China, pulling the pilot partly through the window," 15 May 2018
The idea was to create a metropolis as a center for European technology and ideas to enter Russia, to force the Russian nobility to adopt European traditions, and to display the glory of Peter's empire.

— james ellingworth, Fox News, "WORLD CUP: Sun never sets in a St. Petersburg summer," 7 May 2018
Miami is an increasingly modern metropolis, with a culture and identity closely tied to Hispanic, Caribbean and South American influences.

— anne platt, miamiherald, "40 years of relationships solve international Miami mortgage mystery | Miami Herald," 16 Apr. 2018
Austin wasn't the only major Texas metropolis that landed on the annual ranking.

— heather leighton, Houston Chronicle, "Texas is home to the best city in America, US News & World Report says," 9 Apr. 2018
Munich, Germany While some tourists may only ever see the inside of a beer hall during Oktoberfest, Munich is a Bavarian metropolis that offers a high quality of life to those who decide to stay a little longer.

— sebastian modak, Condé Nast Traveler, "The Best Cities for Expats," 21 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of metropolis

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

metropolis Synonyms

Synonyms

burg, city, cosmopolis, megalopolis, municipality, town;

Related Words

borough;

urban sprawl;

exurb, suburb, suburbia;

central city, edge city, garden city;

core city, downtown, inner city, midtown;

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

METROPOLIS Defined for English Language Learners

metropolis

noun

Definition of metropolis for English Language Learners

: a very large or important city

METROPOLIS Defined for Kids

metropolis

noun me·trop·o·lis \ mə-ˈträ-pə-ləs \

Definition of metropolis for Students

1 : the chief or capital city of a country, state, or region

2 : a large or important city

Word Root of metropolis

The Greek word polis, meaning “city” or “community,” and the related word polītēs, meaning “citizen,” give us the roots polis and polit. Words from Greek polis and polītēs have something to do with cities or communities or the citizens who live in them. A metropolis is the most important city in an area. The police are a group that enforces the law so as to protect citizens. Politics is the science and art of governing citizens.