municipality

noun

mu·​nic·​i·​pal·​i·​ty myu̇-ˌni-sə-ˈpa-lə-tē 

plural municipalities

1

: a primarily urban political unit (such as a city or town) having corporate (see corporate sense 1a) status and usually powers of self-government

Elections were held in the municipality.

2

: the governing body of a municipality

The municipality approved the budget for the year.

Synonyms of municipality

• city
• town
• metropolis

Examples of municipality in a Sentence

laws that have been enacted by many states and municipalities

a municipality with an excellent police department

Recent Examples on the Web

The actions were made possible by the police accountability bill that had passed in Connecticut, which gave municipalities the right to grant civilian boards subpoena powers. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 23 Mar. 2026

Kathryn Scott Osler/The Denver Post via Getty Images Under HB26-1318, counties or municipalities would designate those routes. —Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026

Chongqing city government, for example, highlighted the role of the municipality’s emotional economy for the first time in its 2026 work report. —Matthew Chin,evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 22 Mar. 2026

Lexington isn’t the only municipality with such a ban in Massachusetts. —Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 22 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1790, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for municipality

• bisexuality
• collegiality
• conditionality
• congeniality
• conventionality
• conviviality
• dimensionality
• directionality
• emotionality
• essentiality
• eventuality
• grammaticality

Kids Definition

municipality

noun

mu·​nic·​i·​pal·​i·​ty myu̇-ˌnis-ə-ˈpal-ət-ē 

plural municipalities

: a self-governing city or town

Legal Definition

municipality

noun

mu·​nic·​i·​pal·​i·​ty myu̇-ˌni-sə-ˈpa-lə-tē 

plural municipalities

: a primarily urban municipal corporation

also : the governing body of a municipality