municipal
Americanadjective
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of or relating to a town or city or its local government.
municipal elections.
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Archaic. pertaining to the internal affairs of a state or nation rather than to international affairs.
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of municipal
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin mūnicipālis, from mūnicip-, stem of mūniceps “citizen of a free town” (from mūni(a) “duties” + -ceps, combining form of capere “to take”; cf. prince) + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
A municipality refers to a village, town, or city that's usually governed by a mayor and council. From this noun, we get the adjective municipal, which you can use to describe something that relates to a town or its government. Your town's city council may have offices in the municipal building downtown. If you want to fight city hall, that would be the place to go. Municipal also more generally describes anything related to the town or city itself. If you live within the city limits, for example, your house may be hooked into the municipal water supply, but if you live outside the city limits you may have to have your own well.
Vocabulary lists containing municipal
Nothing But the Truth
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"Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell
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"Democracy in America, Vol. 1" by Alexis de Tocqueville, Introduction–Chapter 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The proposed center in Nodaway County, about 40 miles from here, would use municipal wastewater in a closed-loop cooling system that, according to the project website, requires an initial 1.5 million gallons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Federal agencies are investigating cyberattacks targeting municipal water systems in a dozen states.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
Grassroots efforts at the municipal level have been far more effective in galvanizing resistance to the creation of new immigration prisons.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
The reinvention I had in mind was more municipal than spiritual: perhaps a change in infrastructure might produce a corresponding improvement in character.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
Around them, the city seemed to yawn and stretch, waking gradually as the sun rose over sauropods and swooping dacytls, brownstones and church steeples and municipal domes.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
