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

Jia founded the Pingyao International Film Festival in his home province of Shanxi, choosing the ancient city over modern metropolises like Beijing or Shanghai. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 28 Sep. 2025

While outsiders may imagine Hollywood’s superficial glamour, Herzog sees a metropolis teeming with artists, writers and inventors. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2025

First opened in 1994 within the top 14 floors of Kenzo Tange’s Shinjuku Park Tower, Park Hyatt Tokyo quickly became the standard-bearer for luxury hotels in the buzzing metropolis over the next two decades. —Yukari Sakamoto, AFAR Media, 24 Sep. 2025

The Southern California metropolis lays claim to some of the world’s best year-round farmers markets, and its enclaves of immigrant cuisines—Koreatown, Thai Town, and the San Gabriel Valley for Chinese—are unmatched. —Emily Wilson, Bon Appetit Magazine, 19 Sep. 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