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• metro
  metro

  noun

  the underground electric railway of Paris, France, Montreal, Canada, Washington, D.C., and other cities.
• metro-
  metro-

  a combining form meaning “measure,” used in the formation of compound words.

metro

¹ American  

[me-troh] / ˈmɛ troʊ /

noun

(often initial capital letter)

• metros
  plural

1. the underground electric railway of Paris, France, Montreal, Canada, Washington, D.C., and other cities.

2. subway.

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metro ² American  

[me-troh] / ˈmɛ troʊ /

adjective

1. metropolitan.

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noun

• metros
  plural

1. metropolis.

2. (often initial capital letter) the government or jurisdiction of a large city.

metro- ³ American  

1. a combining form meaning “measure,” used in the formation of compound words.

   metronome.

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metro- ⁴ American  

1. a combining form meaning “uterus,” used in the formation of compound words.

   metrorrhagia.

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metro- ⁵ American  

1. a combining form representing metropolis or metropolitan in compound words.

   metroflight; metroland; Metroliner.

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metro- ¹ British  

combining form

1. indicating the uterus

   metrorrhagia

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metro- ² British  

combining form

1. indicating a measure

   metronome

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metro ³ British  

/ ˈmɛtrəʊ, metro /

noun

1. an underground, or largely underground, railway system in certain cities, esp in Europe, such as that in Paris

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• metros
  plural

Etymology

Origin of metro¹

1900–05; < French métro, short for chemin de fer métropolitain metropolitan railroad

Origin of metro²

First recorded in 1900–05; by shortening; or independent use of metro- ³

Origin of metro-³

Combining form representing Greek métron measure

Origin of metro-⁴

Combining form representing Greek mḗtra womb

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

metro metros

Hours after the interview, service on the Kyiv metro was temporarily suspended due to power outages.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

I had taken several Waymo rides around the metro area but hadn’t tried an airport pickup or drop off.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

In France, several cities have operated automated metro lines for years, whereas Germany has only one, in the midsize city of Nuremberg.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Cityview is getting a roughly 40% discount for a newly renovated apartment complex in the Dallas metro area that was foreclosed on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Mrs. Laurencin had made a call to the local newspaper, and Mrs. Olinski and The Souls were featured above the fold on the first page of the metro section of the Epiphany Times.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

The data release also covers the London Underground, trams, metros and other light rail services.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

The truth is closer to home: The everywhere millionaires we describe are in metros, suburbs and rural areas across the country, building extraordinary fortunes in ordinary businesses.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

These are the top five metros where for-sale listings had the highest share of price cuts, according to Zillow.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

Orlando was followed by three other Florida metros: North Port, Miami and Cape Coral.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

These metros largely dot the Sunbelt, a geographic area that stretches across the southern U.S. and is known for its abundance of home building.

From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026

Related Words

• rail line
• railway
• subway