conurbation

[kon-er-bey-shuhn]

noun

1. an extensive urban area resulting from the expansion of several cities or towns so that they coalesce but usually retain their separate identities.

conurbation

/ ˌkɒnɜːˈbeɪʃən /

noun

1. a large densely populated urban sprawl formed by the growth and coalescence of individual towns or cities

Word History and Origins

Origin of conurbation¹

con- + Latin urb- (stem of urbs ) “city, capital city, Rome” + -ation; coined by Sir Patrick Geddes (1854–1932), Scottish sociologist and city planner, in his Cities in Evolution (1915)

Word History and Origins

Origin of conurbation¹

C20: from _con- + -urbation, from Latin urbs city; see _urban

Example Sentences

"Linton-on-Ouse is not a major conurbation and has limited infrastructure which would struggle to support such an increased number."

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About 200 miles east of Algiers, Constantine, known to its Numidian founders as Cirta, is today a sprawling conurbation of more than 400,000 people.

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In Yuzhou city, part of Xuchang's conurbation, 1 million residents are already under lockdown, with people in some areas unable to leave their homes.

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With Christmas parties aplenty cancelled because of the Great Unpleasantness, including that at No 10, a nation will be rapt by a battle between two clubs on the outer fringes of the London conurbation.

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Despite Bradford being the UK's seventh largest city, with the district having a population of 537,000, a recent report found it has the worst rail connections of any major British conurbation.

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Related Words

• capital 
• center 
• downtown 
• metropolis 
• municipality 
• place 
• port