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

An image of the Tokyo metropolis appeared on the screen and ATARASHII GAKKO! —Billboard Japan, Billboard, 26 Mar. 2025

The southeastern metropolis of Shenzhen is taking steps toward updating its own pro-natal incentive, including by expanding access to child care services. —David Faris, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 2025

Laborers from poorer regions of India, like Jharkhand and the adjoining states of Odisha and Bihar—my home state—flood into other parts of the country, particularly the metropolises, to work in the service industries and also a variety of menial jobs. —Amitava Kumar, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2025

The metropolis was populated by the aquatic descendants of pregnant African women who had been forced onto slave ships. —Annalise Frank, Axios, 27 Feb. 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