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 of metropolis

• 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

João Pessoa João Pessoa, the capital of the state of Paraíba, is an enigmatic coastal metropolis. —Aaron Randolph, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025

The Philippine metropolis joins a global network of 26 Cities of Film spanning Europe, Asia, and the Americas. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 Nov. 2025

For lunch, savor the cuisines in this diverse metropolis. —Susanne Fowler, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025

The big story 31-year-old Aarushi Kilawat is a fashion entrepreneur from India's Jaipur, a small city with less than 5 million residents — a far cry from Indian metropolises like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. —Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 30 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