megalopolis

American  

[meg-uh-lop-uh-lis] / ˌmɛg əˈlɒp ə lɪs /

noun

1. a very large city.

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

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megalopolis British  

/ ˌmɛɡəˈlɒpəlɪs /

noun

1. an urban complex, usually comprising several large towns

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megalopolis Cultural  

1. 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.”

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Other Word Forms

• megalopolitan
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of megalopolis

First recorded in 1825–35; megalo- + polis

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Explanation

Enormous and dense with people, a megalopolis is a huge city, series of nearby cities, or part of an even bigger city. Mumbai is a megalopolis, but Walla Walla, Washington is not. Historians and geographers generally use the word megalopolis when they're talking about a chain of cities whose total population exceeds ten million, like the ones dotting the East Coast of the United States. The region made up of the cities between Boston and Washington, D.C. is one well-known megalopolis. The Greek suffix polis means city — think metropolis — and the prefix megas means "great."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

megalopolis

New Delhi, Dhaka, Chinese megalopolis Chongqing and Pakistan's Lahore were among cities whose ozone levels were "extremely poor".

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Twitter that the alarm had been activated, but there were no reports of an actual earthquake and the ground in the megalopolis never actually started shaking.

From Reuters ● May 8, 2023

The area around their home in south San Francisco transformed from a cultural hub in the throes of hippie culture into a tech-obsessed megalopolis of more than 7.5 million people.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 6, 2023

No matter where it ends up, the bureau would be more of an “introverted” presence, heavily securitized, and without a huge procurement budget, so it wouldn’t create a new megalopolis of contractors.

From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2023

The great megalopolis that sprawled from Boston to Baltimore in utter scorn of state boundaries sweltered in the kind of atmosphere that is usually only found in the pressing rooms of large tailor shops.

From Hail to the Chief by John Schoenherr

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Related Words

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

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