mayor
Americannoun
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mayors
plural
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the chief executive official, usually elected, of a city, village, or town.
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the chief magistrate of a city or borough.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of mayor
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Medieval Latin major major; replacing Middle English mer, mair, from Old French maire
Explanation
The mayor is the leader of a city. He or she heads the city government. Just as a president leads a country, a mayor leads a city. Like other politicians, mayors must run for office and win an election. The word mayor comes from the Old French maire for "head of a city or town government" but most mayors probably like the original meaning, which is "greater, superior." Alas, mayors do run cities but calling them all superior is a stretch! In the United States, the president leads the country, a governor leads a state, and a mayor leads a city. If it’s used as a title for a particular mayor, as in Mayor Smith, it’s capitalized.
Vocabulary lists containing mayor
Citizenship (Civics) - Middle School
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Citizenship (Civics) - Introductory
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American Government and Civics, List 2
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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.
See Examples For:
Jefferson is the mayor of High Point, the ninth most populous city in North Carolina, so he felt he knew his district well.
From Slate ● Nov. 13, 2026
In 2002, Greenville’s longtime mayor, Knox White, removed a highway overpass to reveal the waterfall from the Reedy River that flows through downtown and make way for a park.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026
"We set a goal of introducing 15,000 new residents downtown by 2028 and we are now on track to doing that," says Washington DC's deputy mayor for planning and development Nina Albert.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
The conventional wisdom holds that a new mayor means a change of leadership at the LAPD, and potentially new policies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026
Moss’s knees buckled, and then the smug, white face of James Daley was there, right next to the mayor and the chief.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
“I hope I can change the relationship with local government,” Becerra said, adding that he wants his administration to work closely with mayors and county supervisors around the state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
Dave Bing and Kevin Johnson became the Democratic mayors of Detroit and Sacramento, respectively.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
English regional mayors due to be handed a share of tax revenues by central government will be free to use it to give cash grants to individual residents and businesses, it has emerged.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
From April 2028, all mayors of strategic authorities in England will be assigned a share of basic-rate income tax generated in their areas.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Bob Gentry used to be picked on because he was gay, but ended up becoming one of the first gay mayors in California and was a dean at Ms. Gruwell’s college.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
