metropolis

[mi-trop-uh-lis]

noun

plural

metropolises 

1. any large, busy city.

2. the chief, and sometimes capital, city of a country, state, or region.

3. a central or principal place, as of some activity.

   the music metropolis of France.

4. the mother city or parent state of a colony, especially of an ancient Greek colony.

5. the chief see of an ecclesiastical province.

metropolis

/ mɪˈtrɒpəlɪs /

noun

1. the main city, esp of a country or region; capital

2. a centre of activity

3. the chief see in an ecclesiastical province

Word History and Origins

Origin of metropolis¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin mētropolis < Greek mētrópolis a mother state or city, equivalent to mētro-, combining form of mḗtēr mother ¹ + pólis -polis, polis

Word History and Origins

Origin of metropolis¹

C16: from Late Latin from Greek: mother city or state, from mētēr mother + polis city

Example Sentences

Astana is an unusual place, a shiny – somewhat soulless – concrete metropolis purpose built in 1997 as the new capital city of the country.

From BBC

The explosive growth brought with it gimlet-eyed reassessments of what it had taken to bring Los Angeles to its newfound stature as reigning metropolis of the West.

From Los Angeles Times

I never felt the metropolis up the 5 to be a den of grossness like too many of my fellow Orange Countians still think it is.

From Los Angeles Times

That’s a lot to bite off in a sprawling metropolis with millions of people and thousands of opinions about how we might navigate the next few decades.

From Los Angeles Times

It could — and we believe, it will — become a solar-powered, biodiversity-rich metropolis that helps us rethink what urban sustainability really means.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• capital 
• downtown 
• municipality