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Synonyms

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.


city hall British  

noun

  1. the building housing the administrative offices of a city or municipal government

    1. municipal government

    2. the officials of a municipality collectively

  2. 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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of city hall

An Americanism dating back to 1665–75

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Just last week, protestors including former national team members stood outside city hall in Los Angeles saying the team should be kicked out of the tournament.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026

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

Ten years later, the figure had dropped to just 133,000, according to data from Paris city hall, which subsidises the sector.

From Barron's • Nov. 29, 2025

We marched toward city hall in huge numbers.

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

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