noun · academic

metropolis

UK/məˈtrɒpəlɪs/US/məˈtrɑːpəlɪs/me·TROP·o·lis

Band 6-7task2speaking

a very large and important city, often a central economic or cultural hub

Examples

Beijing is a sprawling metropolis with a complex public transport network.

The metropolis attracts migrants from rural areas seeking work.

As a global metropolis, the city has significant influence on fashion and finance.

Band 8 sentence

As a cultural and financial metropolis, the city sets trends that ripple across the region.

Collocations

  • global metropolis
  • regional metropolis
  • a sprawling metropolis

Word family

metropolitan adj / noun

Common mistakes

big city is a metropolisa big city is a metropolis

metropolis has many peoplesa metropolis has many people

Say it for a higher band

5big city6urban centre7+metropolis

Synonyms

megacity

city

Easily confused

megacity

Mumbai is often described as a megacity because of its population size.

metropolitan

The metropolitan area includes suburbs and satellite towns.

Related words

Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.

In City & Urban life

Learn it with its set