city hall

American  

noun

(often initial capital letters)

• city halls
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• city halls
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of city hall

An Americanism dating back to 1665–75

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

city hall

Right-leaning Americans who had never been particularly civically engaged found themselves at city hall meetings or out in protests, furious about business closures and stay-at-home orders.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

The roads around the city hall in blue will be open some of the time, closing on a phased basis as necessary.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Following Saturday's raids, Ozel -- who is currently visiting the southern city of Adana -- urged party members to gather in solidarity in front of Cankaya city hall.

From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026

This was evidenced at a recent antidiscrimination celebration held at the Nazi-era Tiergarten city hall in Berlin’s diverse Moabit district.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

And remember, my dad works at city hall.

From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya

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Related Words

• town hall

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