mayor

noun

may·​or ˈmā-ər  ˈmer 

 especially before names  (ˌ)mer

: an official elected or appointed to act as chief executive or nominal head of a city, town, or borough

mayoral

ˈmā-ə-rəl 

ˈmer-əl;

ˌmā-ˈȯr-əl 

adjective

Examples of mayor in a Sentence

the mayor of New York

Recent Examples on the Web

The band recently canceled a concert in Turkey due to boycott calls mounted against promoter DBL Entertainment, whose owner had denounced protests over the jailing of Istanbul’s opposition mayor. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 20 June 2025

The city’s ranked choice system allows voters to choose their top five candidates for mayor, plus top picks in other city races. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 20 June 2025

Keith Wilson is mayor of Portland, Ore. Read more Portland The U.S. Has Never Been a Bigger Target for Terrorism. —Nuri Kino, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025

The last three mayoral elections in New York have been won by a Democratic candidate, meaning whoever wins the primary is likely to become the city’s next mayor. —Callum Sutherland, Time, 20 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English maire, from Anglo-French, from Latin major greater — more at major

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mayor

• gayer
• grayer
• greyer
• layer
• nayar
• payer
• payor
• peyer
• player
• preyer
• sayer
• slayer

Kids Definition

mayor

noun

may·​or ˈmā-ər  ˈme(-)ər 

: an official elected to act as head of a city or borough

mayoral

ˈmā-ə-rəl  ˈme- ə- 

adjective

Legal Definition

mayor

noun

may·​or ˈmā-ər, ˈmer 

: an official elected or appointed to act as chief executive or nominal head of a city, town, or borough