polis
noun
an ancient Greek city-state.
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polis
1 American
[poh-lis]
/ ˈpoʊ lɪs /
noun
poleis
plural
-polis
2
American
polis
1
British
/ ˈpɒlɪs /
noun
polis
2
British
/ ˈpolɪs /
noun
Usage
What does -polis mean? The combining form -polis is used like a suffix meaning “city.” It is occasionally used in technical terms. The form -polis comes from Greek pólis, meaning “city.”
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of polis1
1890–95; < Greek pólis, plural (Ionic) póleis
Origin of -polis2
Combining form representing Greek pólis polis
Explanation
In ancient Greece, a polis was a completely independent, self-governing city. Each polis had an urban center with shopping areas, temples, and government buildings. A Greek polis was composed of territory that included a dense city, usually surrounded by protective walls, and the countryside around it. A temple near the center was often set on a high hill. The whole country was divided into these city-states; at the height of this era, there were about 1,000 poleis. Among the most famous were Athens and Sparta. The Greek polis means "citadel, city, or community," from a root meaning "citadel or hilltop."
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:
Playwrights addressed the polis not by dramatizing current events but by recasting tales from the mythological and historic past to sharpen critical thinking on contemporary concerns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025
They were woven into the fabric of a democratic polis.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2025
Now protected by their own walls, and in possession of all the civic tools needed to form their own polis, the Helots were liberated from Spartan tyranny at long last.
From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2024
Each hoplite had to be a free Greek citizen of his polis and had to be able to pay for his own weapons and armor.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020
One of the few local documents to survive from this time, the so-called Constitution of Cyrene, prescribes the kind of political machinery one might expect in a wholly independent polis.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
In 499 BCE several Ionian Greek poleis rose against the Persians and successfully secured Athenian aid.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020
Open war finally broke out between the two cities in 431 BCE after two of their respective allied poleis started a conflict and Athens tried to influence the political decisions of Spartan allies.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020
The Greek poleis were each distinct, fiercely proud of their own identity and independence, and they frequently fought small-scale wars against one another.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020
Rome split Mace-don into puppet republics, plundered Macedon’s allies, and lorded over the remaining Greek poleis.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2019
The Hellenic municipalities were developments from the poleis, or city-states, which existed prior to the Roman conquest in Greece and the Hellenized areas of Asia and Africa.
From A History of Rome to 565 A. D. by Boak, Arthur Edward Romilly
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.
