municipality
Americannoun
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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:
Ruiz is to receive 85kg and Gavi 68.5kg in a tradition that local officials say "has become a hallmark of the municipality for honouring its great athletes".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The trap began with a routine bureaucratic ritual: the head of a family-run contracting company and a small town public-works director trading emails about when the municipality would cut a six-figure check for utility work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 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
A small farm town in Michigan voted against a proposed data center, but the developers sued and the municipality was forced to settle.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
Levittown is not technically a city or any kind of municipality.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Late on Saturday, at least eight municipalities near Toledo were also ordered to evacuate, though it was unclear how many people were involved.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Surfside Beach joins a growing list of municipalities hit by the scam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Only a handful of municipalities allow noncitizens to vote in local elections.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Lebanon's army urged displaced residents to delay their return to southern border villages, while several municipalities told people to await instructions.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
Cartographers create fictional landmarks, streets, and municipalities and place them obscurely into their maps.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
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.
