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

Today, Elba is more known for whimsical seaside towns dotted with cafés, shops and visitors from all over Italy and abroad looking for a respite in various scenic harbors before returning to the buzzing metropolis of Florence. —Alissa Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025

Eduard Limonov then—an appropriate nom de plume for a dissident poet arriving in 1974 New York, a metropolis of graffiti and project fires, of blackouts and serial killers. —Ed Simon june 23, Literary Hub, 23 June 2025

The streets were fairly quiet in the Iranian capital, usually a bustling metropolis of over 9 million people. —Frederik Pleitgen, CNN Money, 21 June 2025

Problem highlights the ideological inconsistencies of the small-town Tennessee singer-songwriter who despises a coastal metropolis but loves to dip in the cadences of rappers who live in them. —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 20 May 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