municipality

noun

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

plural municipalities

1

: a primarily urban political unit 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

• 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

As municipalities adapt to the pressures of climate change, density, and livability, urban landscape design has become a top priority. —Nia Bowers, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025

Much of this damage was concentrated in northwest Milwaukee and in multiple municipalities around the city of Milwaukee, including Bayside, Brown Deer, Glendale, West Milwaukee and Wauwatosa. —Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 11 Sep. 2025

As a result, Voorne aan Zee municipality imposed customized regulations on the farm to reduce odor, DCMR said. —Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025

Santee has a new city manager to oversee day-to-day operations in the East County municipality. —Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025

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