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metro

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metro¹

  • /ˈmɛtɹəʊ/ UK
  • /ˈmɛtɹoʊ/ US
  • /mɛʈ.ro/ South Asia

Rhymes with -ɛtɹəʊ

Where it comes from

From French métro, clipping of métropolitain (from Ancient Greek μήτηρ (mḗtēr, “mother”) + πόλις (pólis, “city”)), as in the Chemin de fer métropolitain, an early name for the Paris Métro. This name was a direct translation of "Metropolitan Railway", which was the original name of the earliest part of the London Underground, constructed in 1863.

noun metros · métro

  1. general A rapid transit rail transport system, or a train in such systems, generally underground and serving a metropolitan area. He is going to the stadium by metro.

    Similar: subway, underground, underground railway, Tube, tube

  2. uncommon An urban rapid transit rail transport system, normally with lighter track and light trains (i.e. an S-Bahn or similar), or a train in such systems. Informs how long the passenger has to wait for the next metro

metro²

  • /ˈmɛtɹəʊ/ UK
  • /ˈmɛtɹoʊ/ US
  • /mɛʈ.ro/ South Asia

Rhymes with -ɛtɹəʊ

Where it comes from

Clipping of metropolitan.

noun metros

  1. A metropolitan area. In an age of persistently high inequality, work in high-cost metros catering to the whims of the wealthy—grooming them, stretching them, feeding them, driving them—has become one of the fastest-growing industries. […] Relationships between the classes, once mediated through the household, are now ma

adjective more metro · most metro

  1. metropolitan

Metro³

Where it comes from

From Indonesian Metro.

proper noun

  1. A city in Lampung, Indonesia.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: subway, underground, tube, railway, meter, mtr, cops, police, yardstick, greater, city, train, urban, metre, gta, agglomeration

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Cite this
MLA

"metro." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/metro. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

metro. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/metro

Chicago

"metro." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/metro.

BibTeX
@misc{metro_2026,
  title = {metro},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/metro},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}