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city hall

See more synonyms for city hall on Thesaurus.com
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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Origin of city hall

An Americanism dating back to 1665–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for city hall

Historical Examples

  • The speaker, a boy of fifteen, was sitting on a bench in City-Hall Park.

    The Telegraph Boy

    Horatio Alger, Jr.

  • The conquering thousands then marched in triumph to the city-hall.

  • On one side of the cathedral is the city-hall, and on the other, the Presbytire.

    The Americans as They Are

    Charles Sealsfield

  • His nod included the city-hall reporter and the ship-news man.

    Local Color

    Irvin S. Cobb

  • In the City-hall many were consumed, while others, leaped from the windows to renew the combat below.

British Dictionary definitions for city hall

city hall

noun
  1. the building housing the administrative offices of a city or municipal government
  2. mainly US and Canadian
    1. municipal government
    2. the officials of a municipality collectively
  3. US informal bureaucracy
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012