metropolis

noun

me·​trop·​o·​lis mə-ˈträ-p(ə-)ləs 

1

: the chief or capital city of a country, state, or region

2

: the city or state of origin of a colony (as of ancient Greece)

3

a

: a city regarded as a center of a specified activity

an industrial metropolis

a cattle metropolis

b

: a large important city

one of Europe's great metropolises

Synonyms

• asphalt jungle
• burg
• city
• cosmopolis
• megacity
• megalopolis
• municipality
• town

Examples of metropolis in a Sentence

a big, teeming metropolis where ambitious people from all over come to make their mark

Recent Examples on the Web

In those nine minutes of footage, the camera meanders through an optimistic, dynamic metropolis where new technologies breed new visions and big plans. —Justin Davidson, Curbed, 18 Apr. 2025

The city, a boomtown in the last decade thanks to the explosion of wealth generated by its homegrown tech industry, has struggled more than almost any other US metropolis to rebound after the Covid-19 pandemic. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2025

The air feels different, too—pristine, crisp, and a welcome reprieve from the pollution choking India’s congested metropolises. —Sarah Khan, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 Apr. 2025

Travel: Spend 36 hours in Budapest, a beautiful Old World metropolis. —Natasha Frost, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin, from Greek mētropolis, from mētr-, mētēr mother + polis city — more at mother, police entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for metropolis

• acropolis
• monopolise
• necropolis
• megalopolis
• propolis

Kids Definition

metropolis

noun

me·​trop·​o·​lis mə-ˈträp-(ə-)ləs 

1

: the chief or capital city of a country, state, or region

2

: a large important city