city hall

See more synonyms for city hall on Thesaurus.com

noun (often initial capital letters)

the administration building of a city government.
a city administration or government.
Informal. a bureaucracy or bureaucratic rules and regulations, especially that of a city government: You can't fight city hall.

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 of city hall

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.
Washington and the American Republic, Vol. 3.
Benson J. Lossing
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.
The Rise of the Dutch Republic, Volume III.(of III) 1574-84
John Lothrop Motley

British Dictionary definitions for city hall

city hall

noun

the building housing the administrative offices of a city or municipal government
mainly US and Canadian
1. municipal government
2. the officials of a municipality collectively
US informal bureaucracy

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