metropolis

American  

[mi-trop-uh-lis] / mɪˈtrɒp ə lɪs /

noun

• metropolises
  plural

1. any large, busy city.

2. the chief, and sometimes capital, city of a country, state, or region.

3. a central or principal place, as of some activity.

   the music metropolis of France.

4. the mother city or parent state of a colony, especially of an ancient Greek colony.

5. the chief see of an ecclesiastical province.

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metropolis British  

/ mɪˈtrɒpəlɪs /

noun

1. the main city, esp of a country or region; capital

2. a centre of activity

3. the chief see in an ecclesiastical province

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• metropolises
  plural

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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

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

metropolis metropolises

Ex-Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has spent 12 years building a Minecraft metropolis.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Shanghai made history this week: the first Asian metropolis to be invited as the city of honour to Barcelona's famously rambunctious cultural festival, La Merce.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

For the past 36 years, a firm cap on car ownership has kept Singapore largely free of the gridlock that marks life in every other Southeast Asian metropolis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

"It is still on the edge of the metropolitan area, but it is not advancing on the western side of the metropolis," he said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

An estimated 40,000 Spiritualist believers resided in that metropolis already, but with a growing population of half a million people, there was plenty of opportunity to grow the spirit cause as well.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Around 25-30 percent of the Kazakh population live in just three cities: the capital Astana in the centre, and the southern metropolises of Almaty and Shymkent.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

About 40% of metropolises had more deaths than births, and rely on newcomers to grow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026

The U.S. winners range from small cities such as Cape Coral, Fla., to major metropolises like San Francisco; many are tax havens.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 4, 2026

In Los Angeles and San Francisco, two of the other metropolises that have welcomed Waymo, subscribers to the $10-a-month DashPass can earn a $10 discount off one Waymo ride every month.

From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2025

No kind of crazy breakthroughs, just variations on a theme: pigs with brain maps that resemble St. Louis, my couple for Noelle joined by the sweeping bridge, a family of metropolises.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

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Related Words

• capital
• downtown
• municipality

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