city hall

American  

noun

(often initial capital letters)

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.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of city hall

An Americanism dating back to 1665–75

Example Sentences

But legal scholars and redistricting experts say the ruling could also have consequences in California’s city hall, school board and county supervisor races.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 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

His longshot bid for city hall comes on the anniversary of a wildfire that destroyed his home and became one of California's most destructive blazes on record.

From BBC • Jan. 7, 2026

They waved and smiled and climbed aboard buses and were driven through narrow streets to Hamburg’s Rathaus, its old city hall.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• town hall