metropolitan
me·tro·po·lit·an/ˌmɛtɹəˈpɑlɪtən/noun, adjective
metropolitan is spelled M-E-T-R-O-P-O-L-I-T-A-N: 12 letters and 5 syllables (me·tro·po·lit·an). It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, metropolitan means “A bishop empowered to oversee other bishops; an archbishop” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of metropolitan is metropolitans.
How many letters and syllables are in metropolitan?
| Letters | 12: M-E-T-R-O-P-O-L-I-T-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: me·tro·po·lit·an |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,309th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is metropolitan?
Metropolitan appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce metropolitan?
- UK /mɛtɹəˈpɒlɪtən/
- UK [-tn̩]
- US /ˌmɛtɹəˈpɑlɪtən/
Metropolitan has 5 syllables, split me·tro·po·lit·an in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-metropolitan.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with metropolitan?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as metropolitan from its last stressed vowel (/ɑlɪtən/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of metropolitan
- metropolitans plural
- more metropolitan comparative
- most metropolitan superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does metropolitan mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A bishop empowered to oversee other bishops; an archbishop.
- 2
The inhabitant of a metropolis.
adjective
- 1
Pertaining to the see or province of a metropolitan.
- 2
Of, or pertaining to, a metropolis or other large urban settlement.
- 3
Of or pertaining to the parent state of a colony or territory, or the home country, e.g. metropolitan France
the new political status of these islands marks a definite break with the traditional Dutch colonial practice to keep its Caribbean colonies at a distance; and, after 2010, Dutch metropolitan laws and dministrative practices started being i
adjective
- 1
datedOf or pertaining to London, United Kingdom.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate metropolitan?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of metropolitan: Metro..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Metropolitan in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Metropolit |
| Spanish | metropolitano |
| French | métropolitain, urbain |
| Portuguese | metropolitano |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does metropolitan come from?
From Late Latin metropolitanus, from Ancient Greek μητροπολίτης (mētropolítēs).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).