Memphis

¹ American  

[mem-fis] / ˈmɛm fɪs /

noun

1. a port in SW Tennessee, on the Mississippi.

2. a ruined city in Lower Egypt, on the Nile, S of Cairo: the ancient capital of Egypt.

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Memphis ² American  

[mem-fis] / ˈmɛm fɪs /

noun

1. a group of international designers and architects, formed in the 1980s and based in Milan, whose work is characterized by the use of bold colors, geometric shapes, and unconventional, often playful, designs.

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adjective

1. of or relating to this group or its style of design.

Memphis British  

/ ˈmɛmfɪs /

noun

1. a port in SW Tennessee, on the Mississippi River: the largest city in the state; a major cotton and timber market; Memphis State University (1909). Pop: 645 978 (2003 est)

2. a ruined city in N Egypt, the ancient centre of Lower Egypt, on the Nile: administrative and artistic centre, sacred to the worship of Ptah

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Memphis Cultural  

1. Largest city in Tennessee; located on the Mississippi River.

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Etymology

Origin of Memphis

The name was allegedly suggested to Ettore Sottsass, one of the group's founders, by the Bob Dylan song “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” on the evening of December 11, 1980

Example Sentences

In Memphis, xAI had said it would build a water recycling plant that can reuse wastewater, instead of relying on the region’s aquifer, which provides drinking water for residents.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

Located in Memphis, Tennessee, the facility had been underutilized by his xAI lab, the creator of the Grok chatbot.

From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026

Analysts said the deal with Anthropic for the computing capacity at the Colossus 1 data center near Memphis, Tenn., could bring Musk a few billion dollars a year.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

Clarke played in 309 games for Memphis but only two this past season because of injuries.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

Two hundred miles and one pit stop later, safely removed from Kentucky, they were midway between Nashville and Memphis.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green