metropolis

American  

[mi-trop-uh-lis] / mɪˈtrɒp ə lɪs /

noun

metropolises plural

1. any large, busy city.

2. the chief, and sometimes capital, city of a country, state, or region.

3. a central or principal place, as of some activity.

   the music metropolis of France.

4. the mother city or parent state of a colony, especially of an ancient Greek colony.

5. the chief see of an ecclesiastical province.

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metropolis British  

/ mɪˈtrɒpəlɪs /

noun

1. the main city, esp of a country or region; capital

2. a centre of activity

3. the chief see in an ecclesiastical province

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• metropolises
  plural

Etymology

Origin of metropolis

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin mētropolis < Greek mētrópolis a mother state or city, equivalent to mētro-, combining form of mḗtēr mother ¹ + pólis -polis, polis

Explanation

A large, densely populated urban area is called a metropolis. "She liked living in a metropolis because there were many opportunities in a city that were not available elsewhere, like 24-hour diners." The noun metropolis comes from the Greek roots mētēr, meaning "mother," and pólis, meaning "city." Historically, the word referred to the founding city-state of a region in Ancient Greece. Today the word refers to any urban area. The largest metropolis in Massachusetts is Boston, which is also the capital. Sometimes people use the word metropolis ironically or sarcastically: "She came from the booming metropolis of Tumbleweed, population 325."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

metropolis metropolises

Growing up in the metropolis of Abidjan in Ivory Coast, he decided early to become a professional footballer.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

A consistent message emerged: Los Angeles was not a beautiful, vibrant metropolis with serious problems, but a hellhole verging on being lost for good.

From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2026

I think people expect it to feel like a small Midwestern town, and they’re surprised by how much of a real metropolis it is.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

Rollins recalled feeling a sort of serenity as he returned to New York, finding a new empathy in the metropolis.

From Barron's ● May 26, 2026

Let us be dissatisfied until those who live on the outskirts of hope are brought into the metropolis of daily security.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

The "GTA" saga's action-adventure titles set in a sprawling open world have immersed players in high-definition imaginary cities heavily inspired by American metropolises.

From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026

About 40% of metropolises had more deaths than births, and rely on newcomers to grow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026

The U.S. winners range from small cities such as Cape Coral, Fla., to major metropolises like San Francisco; many are tax havens.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 4, 2026

In Los Angeles and San Francisco, two of the other metropolises that have welcomed Waymo, subscribers to the $10-a-month DashPass can earn a $10 discount off one Waymo ride every month.

From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2025

No kind of crazy breakthroughs, just variations on a theme: pigs with brain maps that resemble St. Louis, my couple for Noelle joined by the sweeping bridge, a family of metropolises.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

Related Words

• capital
• downtown
• municipality