city hall

American  

noun

(often initial capital letters)

• city halls
  plural

1. the administration building of a city government.

2. a city administration or government.

3. Informal. a bureaucracy or bureaucratic rules and regulations, especially that of a city government.

   You can't fight city hall.

---

city hall British  

noun

1. the building housing the administrative offices of a city or municipal government

2. 1. municipal government

   2. the officials of a municipality collectively

3. informal bureaucracy

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• city halls
  plural

Etymology

Origin of city hall

An Americanism dating back to 1665–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

city hall

Following Saturday's raids, Ozel -- who is currently visiting the southern city of Adana -- urged party members to gather in solidarity in front of Cankaya city hall.

From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026

To get one more shot to fight city hall, and win.

From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2026

For two decades, the two candidates worked closely together in both the National Assembly and Nice’s city hall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026

Altadena has never organized itself around a traditional civic center, like a city hall plaza or downtown square.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026

Little Willy went to see Mayor Smiley at the city hall building in town to sign up for the race.

From "Stone Fox" by John Reynolds Gardiner

Related Words

• town hall