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

Admire holiday toy trains racing through a miniature metropolis. —Caroline Ritzie, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Jan. 2026

There's something about being in a bustling new city far away from home—and some metropolises seem to have more of a magnetic draw for tourists than others. —Taryn White, Travel + Leisure, 7 Jan. 2026

And while its social-welfare state was dismantled and degraded, its corporate welfare state survived and thrived, helping create the unequal metropolis Mamdani is called upon to govern. —Daniel Wortel-London, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026

Traffic fatalities have long plagued the metropolis. —Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2026

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