megacity

American

[meg-uh-sit-ee] / ˈmɛg əˌsɪt i /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

megacities

plural

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.

It survived colonial rule, a bloodied partition, the tumult of independence and Delhi's transformation into a sprawling megacity.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

Its unique fluke next popped up six years later -- this time off the coast of the Brazilian megacity Sao Paulo.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

In the high-tech megacity of Shenzhen in southern China, Prince Andrew looked on as dancers spun and waved streamers to entertain an audience of investors and innovators.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026

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 • Nov. 8, 2025

Tourists are flocking to Chongqing, China’s megacity that’s straight out of sci-fi.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025

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