The mayor of a town or city is the person who has been elected to represent it for a fixed period of time or, in some places, to run its government.
mayor in British English
(mɛə)
noun
the chairperson and civic head of a municipal corporation in many countries
Scottish equivalent: provost
Derived forms
mayoral (ˈmayoral)
adjective
mayorship (ˈmayorˌship)
noun
Word origin
C13: from Old French maire, from Latin maior greater. See major
mayor in American English
(ˈmeɪər; mɛr)
noun
the elected or appointed head of a municipal government, usually the chief administrative official but sometimes a largely ceremonial figure having little executive authority
Derived forms
mayoral (ˈmayoral) (ˈmeɪərəl; meɪˈɔrəl)
adjective
Word origin
ME mair < OFr maire < L major, compar. of magnus, great: see magni-
Examples of 'mayor' in a sentence
mayor
The mayor has become a regular on the red carpet since his election.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The former mayor was undecided until the very last minute.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
What did the lord mayor do about it?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The two other witnesses interviewed are a former senior council official and a former lord mayor of Leicester.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Recent lord mayors have been drawn from the financial services industry and included investment bankers, lawyers and stockbrokers approaching the end of their careers.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Under the proposals elected mayors or directly elected executives can be chosen in two ways.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The deputy mayor said that he was appalled by the violence.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Neither the government nor the mayor agreed.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The city now has an elected mayor.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
He has made enemies in his time as mayor.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Or is she hedging her bets in case she fails to become mayor?
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The poll was called after city officials barred the system of an elected mayor and council manager.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He was only then a deputy mayor.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Any mayor or government minister can put pressure on the media.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The case for elected mayors needs to be remade.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
At times the mayor interrupted the interview to suck on what looked like a fishing float.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The most successful city mayors across Europe are those with a firm grasp of detail.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
He was knighted in 2004 after his year in office as lord mayor.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But the town 's mayor reckons converting the property into flats would help rebrand the area.
The Sun (2012)
The former London mayor was ostentatiously not making a genuine historical point about prewar Europe.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They cannot become mayor unless they take French nationality, and their main responsibilities are roads and bins.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Yet other close friends have been warning the former New York mayor to stay out of the way.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
At the moment this feeling is like after the lord mayor's parade but the disappointment about the result of the game far outweighs that of any individual.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In other languages
mayor
British English: mayor /mɛə/ NOUN
The mayor of a town or city is the person who has been elected to represent it for a fixed period of time.