city hall
Americannoun
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city halls
plural
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the administration building of a city government.
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a city administration or government.
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Informal. a bureaucracy or bureaucratic rules and regulations, especially that of a city government.
You can't fight city hall.
noun
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the building housing the administrative offices of a city or municipal government
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municipal government
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the officials of a municipality collectively
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informal bureaucracy
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
Official celebrations will take place in the city on Thursday with a parade and a city hall ceremony, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office announced.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
To get one more shot to fight city hall, and win.
From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2026
Altadena has never organized itself around a traditional civic center, like a city hall plaza or downtown square.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
My various jobs—from city hall to Public Allies to the university—had helped me see how hard it could be for some people to secure things like basic health care and housing.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
