megacity

American

[meg-uh-sit-ee] / ˈmɛg əˌsɪt i /

noun

plural

megacities

a city having a population of one million or more.

megacity British

/ ˈmɛɡəˌsɪtɪ /

noun

a city with over 10 million inhabitants

"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

Etymology

Origin of megacity

First recorded in 1965–70; mega- + city

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.

There are two very different flanks to Kimwenza Valley on the southern outskirts of Kinshasa, a megacity of around 17 million inhabitants which is constantly expanding and engulfing the surrounding countryside.

From Barron's

The hosts and Jeff discuss the many reasons Mohammed bin Salman’s outlandish plans for a megacity in the desert have failed to be realized.

From Slate

A government study this year calculated that 1.5 million people earned their living vending on the streets of the megacity.

From Barron's

Pakistan regularly ranks among the world's most polluted countries, with Lahore often the most polluted megacity.

From Barron's

Moustapha makes no secret of the fact that he will vote for "ADO" precisely because the president has carried out a "metamorphosis" of French-speaking West Africa's megacity with some seven million inhabitants, almost twice as many as it had in 2000.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023