Metro
adj, name, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A rapid transit rail transport system, or a train in such systems, generally underground and serving a metropolitan area. general
"He is going to the stadium by metro."
- 2 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 managed through an app that serves a large metro area."
- 3 an electric railway operating below the surface of the ground (usually in a city) wordnet
- 4 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. uncommon
"Informs how long the passenger has to wait for the next metro"
- 1 metropolitan
- 1 A city in Lampung, Indonesia.
Example
More examples"The metro honked at me this morning."
Etymology
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.
Clipping of metropolitan.
From Indonesian Metro.
Related phrases
More for "metro"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.