municipality

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

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of municipality

plural municipalities

1 : a primarily urban political unit having corporate (see corporate 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.

See municipality defined for English-language learners

See municipality defined for kids

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 of municipality from the Web

In some states, revenue from taxes is divided among the state and municipalities.

— jenna carlesso, Courant Community, "Marijuana Proponents Praise Legislative Victory, Ponder Next Steps," 7 Apr. 2018
Parking tickets, meanwhile, account for less than 1 percent of local government revenue nationwide, but some municipalities are much more reliant on fines than others.

— teke wiggin, Recode, "Lawyer bots take the hassle out of fighting parking tickets and property taxes — and could cost local governments real revenue," 5 Apr. 2018
Until Monday, Lake Havasu City was the only Arizona municipality to offer a text option.

— maria polletta, azcentral, "Text-to-911 launches in metro Phoenix: 'This will allow me to reach out for services'," 2 Apr. 2018
The 1997 Rent Control Preemption Act—a state law pushed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) not just in Illinois but in dozens of other states—prohibits municipalities from passing any kind of laws that regulate rent.

— maya dukmasova, Chicago Reader, "News / Housing Here's what's next in the push to lift the ban on rent control in Illinois," 28 Mar. 2018
The attack crippled the municipality’s computers and compromised systems used internally by city employees, as well as customer-facing applications used by vendors and regular citizens.

— michael harriot, The Root, "Who Hacked the ATL? Hijackers Are Holding Atlanta for Ransom and Time Is Running Out," 27 Mar. 2018
Los Alamitos leaders on Monday approved an ordinance that exempts their Orange County municipality from Senate Bill 54, a law that took effect Jan. 1 and restricts local law enforcement's cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

— alene tchekmedyian, latimes.com, "Los Alamitos wants nothing to do with California's 'sanctuary state' laws. Will it start a new resistance?," 20 Mar. 2018
Some homeowners, such as seniors and veterans, may be able to take advantage of waivers or property tax relief programs offered by their municipalities or states, Terrazas said.

— aimee picchi, USA TODAY, "New tax law: Steps to cut property tax are worth effort, money after SALT cap," 20 Mar. 2018
Fiore has been accused of — among other things — paying bribes to public officials for help in securing towing contracts in their municipalities.

— ann zaniewski, Detroit Free Press, "Former Detroit officer sentenced to 2 years in bribery case," 14 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'municipality.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.