metropolis

noun

me·​trop·​o·​lis mə-ˈträ-p(ə-)ləs 

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

Synonyms

• city
• town

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

The brand’s latest, which debuted at this year’s China International Motorcycle Trade Exhibition, sports a chunky, cyberpunk-indebted design and bold lighting package that wouldn’t look out of place zipping around a futuristic metropolis. —Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 15 Oct. 2025

San Francisco is far smaller than Los Angeles, New York, London, or any of the Chinese metropolises where technological devices are manufactured. —Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025

As underwhelming Lumiose ends up being when measured against the expectation of a bustling metropolis like that of Pokémon Black and White’s Castelia City, there is never a shortage of things to do in between main missions. —Ryan Gaur, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025

Since its municipal establishment in 2018, Roku City has been a metropolis intermittently besieged by mythical creatures including a kraken, a big robot, and a Godzilla-like kaiju. —Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2025

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

Rhymes for metropolis

• acropolis
• monopolise
• necropolis
• megalopolis
• propolis

Kids Definition

metropolis

noun

me·​trop·​o·​lis mə-ˈträp-(ə-)ləs 

1

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

2

: a large important city