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.
Delhi's municipal authorities said they were closing the Central Park for two days for "administrative" reasons.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Istanbul municipal teams and firefighters were carrying out cleanup operations at schools, football pitches, garages and other sites on Thursday, pumping water out of flooded areas and clearing mud, an AFP photographer reported.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
The state might be able to take advantage of the municipal bond tax exemption to issue bonds and thereby fund down payment loans at below-market rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
I’m 68, widowed and retired from a career in municipal government.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
And he dipped into his own money to pay Cornell project workers to explore the cathedral archives and the national archives of Peru and the municipal archives of Lima.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
