mayor

noun

may·​or ˈmā-ər  ˈmer 

especially before names (ˌ)mer

: an official elected or appointed to act as chief executive or nominal head of a city, town, or borough

mayoral

ˈmā-ə-rəl 

ˈmer-əl;

  ˌmā-ˈȯr-əl 

adjective

Examples of mayor in a Sentence

the mayor of New York

Recent Examples on the Web

Shah, 35, former mayor of the capital city of Kathmandu, has dominated the race to become Nepal’s PM during the campaign, gaining popularity across the ​country. —CNN Money, 6 Mar. 2026

Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for Lurie, said there was an altercation involving Lurie's security detail and that the mayor was not involved. —ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026

In a statement released Thursday evening, Mayor Lurie's press secretary, Charles Lutvak, said the mayor was not involved in the incident. —Richard Ramos, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026

Spearman took a leave of absence as CEO in 2023 to run for Denver mayor and then stepped down ahead of an unsuccessful run for the Denver school board. —Judith Kohler, Denver Post, 6 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English maire, from Anglo-French, from Latin major greater — more at major

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mayor

• gayer
• grayer
• greyer
• layer
• nayar
• payer
• payor
• peyer
• player
• preyer
• sayer
• slayer

Kids Definition

mayor

noun

may·​or ˈmā-ər  ˈme(-)ər 

: an official elected to act as head of a city or borough

mayoral

ˈmā-ə-rəl  ˈme- ə- 

adjective

Legal Definition

mayor

noun

may·​or ˈmā-ər, ˈmer 

: an official elected or appointed to act as chief executive or nominal head of a city, town, or borough