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metro

noun · adjective

Simple meaning

An underground train system for quick travel in a big city

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

mehtroh

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈmɛtɹoʊ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. general

    A rapid transit rail transport system, or a train in such systems, generally underground and serving a metropolitan area.

  2. less common

    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.

adjective

  1. Metropolitan

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (general) A rapid transit rail transport system, or a train in such systems, generally underground and serving a metropolitan area.

Used this way, metro is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • tube , more casual, better suited to speech than writing

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use metro

  • “In Paris the subway system is called the `metro' and in London it is called the `tube' or the `underground'”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Rapid / urban

metro areametro manilametro system

Other combinations

metro stationmetro torontometro stopmetro linemetro broadcasting

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Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: rapid transit rail transport system

subwayundergroundtubeInformal

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.