Greater Manchester

American  

noun

1. a metropolitan county in central England, with the city of Manchester as its center. 498 sq. mi. (1,290 sq. km).

---

Greater Manchester British  

noun

1. a metropolitan county of NW England, administered since 1986 by the unitary authorities of Wigan, Bolton, Bury, Rochdale, Salford, Manchester, Oldham, Trafford, Stockport, and Tameside. Area: 1286 sq km (496 sq miles)

---

Example Sentences

South of the border, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham won the Makerfield by-election, paving the way for him to challenge Sir Keir Starmer as Labour Party leader.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026

Burnham has repeatedly advocated bringing water "back under stronger public control", pointing to the Greater Manchester bus network, which is run by private operators but has public oversight and control, as a model.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026

Burnham, a former government minister who has been Greater Manchester mayor since 2017, ensured his return to parliament by easily beating the hard-right Reform UK party's candidate in the Makerfield constituency in northwest England.

From Barron's • Jun. 19, 2026

But the personal popularity of Burnham -- a three-term mayor of Greater Manchester nicknamed the "King of the North" -- is likely to see him triumph over Reform candidate Robert Kenyon, polls predict.

From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026

In addition to Scotland Yard's Computer Crimes Unit and BT, at least seven other police forces were involved in the three raids, including those from Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire.

From Underground by Dreyfus, Suelette