megalopolis

[meg-uh-lop-uh-lis]

See more synonyms for megalopolis on Thesaurus.com

noun

a very large city.
an urban region, especially one consisting of several large cities and suburbs that adjoin each other.

Also megapolis.

Origin of megalopolis

First recorded in 1825–35; megalo- + polis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for megalopolis

downtown, municipality, capital, metropolis, center, place, port, megalopolis, burg, borough, conurbation, apple, polis

Examples from the Web for megalopolis

Contemporary Examples of megalopolis

Experts believe Zionist vision of spreading out population to be replaced by megalopolis.
Israel, City of Mega
Orly Halpern
May 14, 2012
It felt as if the entire population of megalopolis Tokyo was on the streets at once.
Japan Tsunami: A First-Person Account
Takashi Yokota
March 11, 2011

Historical Examples of megalopolis

This town was situated on a high and craggy rock, near Megalopolis.
Ruins of Ancient Cities (Vol. II of II)
Charles Bucke
To the modern traveller Megalopolis still presents features of interest.
Greece
J.A. McClymont
Athens and Megalopolis could have been no more than an Ephesos or Miltos.
Studies of Travel - Greece
Edward A. Freeman
But the people of Megalopolis call the same the Sicyonian gourd.
The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned of Athenus
Athenus
It joined the other Arcadian cities in the foundation of Megalopolis.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 4
Various

British Dictionary definitions for megalopolis

megalopolis

noun

an urban complex, usually comprising several large towns

Derived Formsmegalopolitan (ˌmɛɡələˈpɒlɪtən), adjective, noun

Word Origin for megalopolis

C20: megalo- + Greek polis city

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

Word Origin and History for megalopolis

1832, from comb. form of Greek megas (genitive megalou) "great" (see mickle) + polis "city" (see polis). The word was used in classical times as an epithet of great cities (Athens, Syracuse, Alexandria), and it also was the name of a former city in Arcadia.

megalopolis in Culture

megalopolis

[(meg-uh-lop-uh-lis)]

A vast stretch of developed industrial urban area, such as the East Coast of the United States from Boston to Washington, D.C., or the Ruhr Valley in Germany. Megalopolis is from Greek words meaning “great city.”