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metropolitan

USmet-ruh-PAH-li-tuhn/ˌmɛtɹəˈpɑlɪtən/Saymet-ruh-POL-i-tuhnUK/mɛtɹəˈpɒlɪtən/AUS/ˌmetɹəˈpɔlɪtən/

Noun pluralmetropolitans

5 meanings of metropolitan

Practice

  1. 1
    adjective
    Having to do with a very big city.

    More than five million people live in the metropolitan area.

    She grew up on a farm but now writes for a metropolitan newspaper.

    Similarurban

    Oppositerural, provincial

  2. 2
    nouncountable
    A church leader who is in charge of other bishops, like an archbishop.

    The metropolitan visited every church in his region this year.

    All the bishops met with the metropolitan to plan the holiday services.

    Note
  3. 3
    adjective
    Having to do with a country's home land, not the colonies or territories it rules.

    Students from the island often go to college in metropolitan France.

    The new rule applies in the territories as well as in metropolitan Portugal.

    Oppositeoverseas, colonial

    Note
  4. 4
    nouncountable
    A person who lives in a very big city.

    As a lifelong metropolitan, she had never seen a cow up close.

    On weekends, tired metropolitans drive out to the countryside.

    Similarurbanite

  5. 5
    adjective
    Having to do with the church area led by a bishop who is in charge of other bishops.

    All the bishops of the metropolitan province meet once a year with the bishop who leads them.

    The town became a metropolitan see, so its bishop now leads the bishops nearby.

    Note

Practice

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Origin

From the Late Latin word metropolitanus, which came from Ancient Greek.