metropolis
Americannoun
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any large, busy city.
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the chief, and sometimes capital, city of a country, state, or region.
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a central or principal place, as of some activity.
the music metropolis of France.
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the mother city or parent state of a colony, especially of an ancient Greek colony.
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the chief see of an ecclesiastical province.
noun
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the main city, esp of a country or region; capital
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a centre of activity
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the chief see in an ecclesiastical province
Etymology
Origin of metropolis
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin mētropolis < Greek mētrópolis a mother state or city, equivalent to mētro-, combining form of mḗtēr mother 1 + pólis -polis, polis
Explanation
A large, densely populated urban area is called a metropolis. "She liked living in a metropolis because there were many opportunities in a city that were not available elsewhere, like 24-hour diners." The noun metropolis comes from the Greek roots mētēr, meaning "mother," and pólis, meaning "city." Historically, the word referred to the founding city-state of a region in Ancient Greece. Today the word refers to any urban area. The largest metropolis in Massachusetts is Boston, which is also the capital. Sometimes people use the word metropolis ironically or sarcastically: "She came from the booming metropolis of Tumbleweed, population 325."
Vocabulary lists containing metropolis
The Mother of All Lists: Mater, Matr
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Okay for Now
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UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #8
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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.
Washington countered with a vision bearing the confident stamp of the Great Society era in American politics—the belief that a complex metropolis could still be shaped, and improved, by comprehensive design.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
In addition to New Delhi, he will visit Agra, site of the world-famous Taj Mahal, as well as the palace-filled city of Jaipur and the eastern metropolis of Kolkata.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
Plans to build Neom Super City - a futuristic, carbon-free metropolis - may have been scaled down, but the vision remains the same.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
The sprawling, splendiferous, aging metropolis is not an easy place to manage and it humbles all its would-be saviors.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026
She had expected London to be a glittering metropolis full of culture and learning.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
