metropolis

[ mi-trop-uh-lis ]
/ mɪˈtrɒp ə lɪs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR metropolis ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural me·trop·o·lis·es.

any large, busy city.
the chief, and sometimes capital, city of a country, state, or region.
a central or principal place, as of some activity: the music metropolis of France.
the mother city or parent state of a colony, especially of an ancient Greek colony.
the chief see of an ecclesiastical province.

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Origin of metropolis

1350–1400; Middle English <Late Latin mētropolis<Greek mētrópolis a mother state or city, equivalent to mētro-, combining form of mḗtērmother1 + pólis-polis, polis

Words nearby metropolis

metroperitonitis, metrophlebitis, metrophobia, metroplasty, Metroplex, metropolis, metropolitan, metropolitan county, metropolitan district, metropolitanize, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to metropolis

downtown, municipality, capital, megalopolis

Example sentences from the Web for metropolis

British Dictionary definitions for metropolis

metropolis
/ (mɪˈtrɒpəlɪs) /

noun plural -lises

the main city, esp of a country or region; capital
a centre of activity
the chief see in an ecclesiastical province

Word Origin for metropolis

C16: from Late Latin from Greek: mother city or state, from mētēr mother + 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