municipal

municipal — adjective

1. relating to the local government of a city or town, covering its services, build

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to the local government of a city or town, covering its services, buildings, and elected officials

Example

Aiko works at the municipal library, which offers free story time for children.

collocation: municipal library / municipal services

The city council meets every Tuesday at the municipal building downtown.

collocation: municipal building / municipal government

Common collocations
  • municipal government
  • municipal council
  • municipal building
  • municipal services
  • municipal park
  • municipal library
  • municipal waste
  • municipal election
Synonyms
  • city

    more common in everyday speech; 'city hall' vs 'municipal building'

  • civic

    relates more to citizens' rights and duties than to government institutions

  • local

    broader — can refer to a county, region, or neighbourhood, not just a town or city

Antonyms
  • national

    pertaining to a whole country rather than a single city or town

  • federal

    pertaining to the central or state-level government, not the local city government

Grammar Patterns

municipal + noun (municipal government, municipal library, municipal council)

Usage Note

Frequently used before nouns that name local government institutions, services, and infrastructure.

Common Mistakes

The municipal of Taipei has many parks.
The municipality of Taipei has many parks.
'Municipal' is an adjective; the noun form meaning 'a city or town with its own government' is 'municipality.'

municipal — noun

Word family

  • municipality
    nounB2
  • municipally
    adverbC1
  • municipalize
    verbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Municipal, city, civic, local, and urban all relate to towns or cities, but each has a different focus. Municipal is the most formal and specific to government structures — a municipal council runs official city business. City is the everyday equivalent (city park vs municipal park) and is far more common in casual speech. Civic relates to the duties and rights of citizens rather than government buildings (civic pride, civic duty). Local is the broadest term — a local road could be maintained by a county, a town, or even a neighbourhood association. Urban describes physical and social characteristics of a city area (urban sprawl, urban population) and has nothing to do with government. In conversation, you would say 'city library'; in a news report or official document, 'municipal library' sounds more natural.

city ↗civiclocal ↗urban ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • municipal government
  • municipal council
  • municipal building
  • municipal services
  • municipal bond
  • municipal bond fund

Phrases

  • municipal bond market
  • municipal waste management
  • municipal election campaign

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Municipal comes from the Latin word municipium, which in ancient Rome referred to a self-governing town whose citizens held Roman rights but followed their own local laws. The root munia means 'duties' or 'offices,' and capere means 'to take' — together suggesting a town that 'takes on its own duties.' The word entered English in the mid-1500s from French municipal, initially used for any matter concerning the internal affairs of a state, and later narrowed to focus on town and city government.