mayor
Americannoun
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the chief executive official, usually elected, of a city, village, or town.
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the chief magistrate of a city or borough.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of mayor
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Medieval Latin major major; replacing Middle English mer, mair, from Old French maire
Explanation
The mayor is the leader of a city. He or she heads the city government. Just as a president leads a country, a mayor leads a city. Like other politicians, mayors must run for office and win an election. The word mayor comes from the Old French maire for "head of a city or town government" but most mayors probably like the original meaning, which is "greater, superior." Alas, mayors do run cities but calling them all superior is a stretch! In the United States, the president leads the country, a governor leads a state, and a mayor leads a city. If it’s used as a title for a particular mayor, as in Mayor Smith, it’s capitalized.
Vocabulary lists containing mayor
Citizenship (Civics) - Middle School
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Citizenship (Civics) - Introductory
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American Government and Civics, List 2
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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:
Esteban "Steve" Bovo, the former mayor of majority-Cuban Hialeah in Florida has known Rubio since he was just a city councilman in West Miami.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
New York’s mayor has a responsibility to all the cultural groups in our supercomplicated, magnificent city.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The release of the list threatens to stir up existing tensions between the mayor and the city’s elite.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Echoing his sentiments, Valdemaqueda mayor Ricardo Meneses added that "we can't let our guard down and we're on high alert because now is the time to stop the fire".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
There was no arguing with the mayor, who counted the county sheriff as a close friend.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
The former mayor of Greater Manchester vowed to give mayors greater control over social housing, welfare and education.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Other former mayors such as Eric Adams also appointed a majority of the board’s members.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
This is likely to be delivered by local mayors who know what works in their regions.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
By comparison, the combined compensation of the mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego is about $1.2 million, including retirement and health benefits, according to the data.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
In some cases, blacks have forged alliances with whites and Latinos to elect black mayors, senators, and congressmen.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
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.
