ENGLISH
REFERENCE

metropolitan

adj. · n.
US //ˌmɛtɹəˈpɑɫətən// UK //mˌɛtɹəpˈɒlɪtən// met·ro·pol·i·tan
  1. 1 relating to a large city (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    relating to a large city and the smaller towns or areas that surround it.

    pertaining to a metropolis or a large urban settlement, including its immediate suburban hinterland.

    Example

    The metropolitan area has a great public transport system that connects the suburbs to the city centre.

    Example

    Planners are struggling to manage the rapid expansion of the metropolitan district as more people migrate from rural provinces in search of employment.
  2. 2 relating to a home country (adj.)
    C1 Advanced Formal

    relating to the main part of a country rather than its overseas territories or colonies.

    pertaining to the parent state of a colony or territory, or the home country as distinct from its dependencies.

    Example

    The laws in metropolitan France are sometimes different from those in its overseas islands.

    Example

    The treaty distinguished between the rights of citizens living in the metropolitan territory and those residing in the distant administrative colonies.
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  1. 3 a high-ranking bishop (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Formal Technical Religion

    a high-ranking leader in some Christian churches who has authority over other bishops.

    a bishop with oversight of a province or see, typically ranking as an archbishop within Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic hierarchies.

    Example

    The Metropolitan led the special service at the cathedral on Sunday morning.

    Example

    The Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church issued a formal decree regarding the administration of the new parishes in the northern province.
  2. 4 a city dweller (n.)
    C1 Advanced Literary

    a person who lives in a large city.

    an inhabitant of a metropolis, often implying a person with sophisticated or urban tastes.

    Example

    As a lifelong metropolitan, she found the quiet of the countryside quite strange.

    Example

    The author writes for the sophisticated metropolitan who enjoys the fast-paced lifestyle of a global capital.
    • city dweller
    • urbanite
Origin

From Late Latin metropolitanus, from Ancient Greek μητροπολίτης (mētropolítēs).

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