municipality
Americannoun
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municipalities
plural
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a city, town, or other district possessing corporate existence and usually its own local government.
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a community under municipal jurisdiction.
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the governing body of such a district or community.
noun
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a city, town, or district enjoying some degree of local self-government
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the governing body of such a unit
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of municipality
From the French word municipalité, dating back to 1780–90. See municipal, -ity
Explanation
If you live in a town or city that has a mayor or other officials who govern it, you live in a municipality. The word municipality comes from the Latin municipium, meaning "free city." A municipality has its own government, but sometimes municipalities join together to share services. For instance, two neighboring municipalities might decide to share a single recycling center in order to cut costs.
Vocabulary lists containing municipality
Just Mercy
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Inherit the Wind
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A Clockwork Orange
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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.
See Examples For:
Indian Creek Village, which operates independently from the country club, is an entire incorporated municipality with its own legislative powers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
The Suisun City council declared a state of emergency Saturday after a cyberattack forced the municipality to shut down its information technology network.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
In a letter last month to the municipality of Lipari and the Sicily region, the environmental foundation Marevivo called the authorisation procedure for the desalination plants to be suspended.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
On the Aeolian islands of Alicudi, Filicudi, Panarea and Stromboli, a plan for four new desalination plants proposed by the local municipality is proving divisive.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
No municipality in all of America had ever taken such draconian action.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
In response, Arcadia officials this month began what they say is a pioneering effort to determine how to protect local municipalities from influence by foreign governments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
That on-the-ground mosquito control work, which has been carried out in a growing number of states and municipalities across the country over the past century, is vital.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
With the spread finally being contained, more than half of the 224,000 people evacuated have been able to return to their homes in 12 municipalities from the northwest to the south of Bordeaux.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Ayuso confirmed that four municipalities remained under lockdown orders while another 12 were evacuated.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
It begins with shock, followed by rage—because cruising ahead of her is a water supply truck owned by one of the various underperforming water municipalities.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
