conurbation

American  

[kon-er-bey-shuhn] / ˌkɒn ərˈbeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an extensive urban area resulting from the expansion of several cities or towns so that they coalesce but usually retain their separate identities.

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conurbation British  

/ ˌkɒnɜːˈbeɪʃən /

noun

1. a large densely populated urban sprawl formed by the growth and coalescence of individual towns or cities

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Etymology

Origin of conurbation

con- + Latin urb- (stem of urbs ) “city, capital city, Rome” + -ation; coined by Sir Patrick Geddes (1854–1932), Scottish sociologist and city planner, in his Cities in Evolution (1915)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conurbation

Then in 2014, fracking for oil and gas started in the surrounding region, and the conurbation boomed.

From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025

"Linton-on-Ouse is not a major conurbation and has limited infrastructure which would struggle to support such an increased number."

From BBC ● May 10, 2022

About 200 miles east of Algiers, Constantine, known to its Numidian founders as Cirta, is today a sprawling conurbation of more than 400,000 people.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 22, 2022

In Yuzhou city, part of Xuchang's conurbation, 1 million residents are already under lockdown, with people in some areas unable to leave their homes.

From Reuters ● Jan. 6, 2022

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Prasat Kra Chap at Koh Ker, part of the vast medieval conurbation revealed by laser scanning in Cambodia.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 10, 2016

Related Words

• capital
• center
• downtown
• metropolis
• municipality
• place
• port