Meanings
- The largest city and former capital of Michigan, United States, a major port on the Detroit River, known as the traditional automotive center of the U.S. It is the county seat of Wayne County.
I’ll tell you what Detroit is. We’re a prideful people that love our city more than anything – even if we do, in many cases, make the difficult decision to leave the city for somewhere outside the boundaries.
2017 October 5, Aaron Foley, “Why Detroit’s city storyteller wants to ban the word ‘gritty’”, in CNN, archived from the original on 01 Nov 20211 more example
The Yemeni American, who had been living in the Dearborn and Detroit area for four years, was preparing dinner while her mother took Amirah’s seven-year-old daughter, Saida, to a nearby playground to play with her friends.
2025 October 8, Stephen Starr, “‘I don’t feel safe any more’: Dearborn’s Arab Americans on rising Islamophobia”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 08 Oct 2025Synonyms: 3-1-3, Arsenal of Democracy, D, The D, D-Town, Hockeytown, Motor City, Motown
- metonymicallyThe United States' automotive industry.
'Cause in the real world they're shutting Detroit down / While the boss man takes his bonus pay and jets on out of town.
2009, John Anderson, John Rich, “Shuttin' Detroit Down”, performed by John Rich
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounThe largest city and former capital of Michigan, United States, a major port on the Detroit River, known as the traditional automotive center of the U.S. It is the county seat of Wayne County.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
- Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
- Proto-Indo-European*d(w)is-
- Proto-Italic*dis-
- Latindis-
- Proto-Indo-European*streyg-
- Proto-Indo-European*strigtós
- Proto-Italic*strigtos
- Latinstrictus
- Latindistrictus
- Frenchdétroit
- EnglishDetroit
From French détroit (“strait”) in Rivière du Détroit (Detroit River). Doublet of district, via Latin.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic ديترويت
- ديترويت (ditrūyt)largest city and former capital of Michigan
Chinese Cantonese 底特律
- 底特律 (dai² dak⁶ leot⁶)largest city and former capital of Michigan
Chinese Mandarin 底特律
- 底特律 (dǐtèlǜ)largest city and former capital of Michigan
Esperanto Detrojto
- Detrojtolargest city and former capital of Michigan
French Détroit
- Détroitlargest city and former capital of Michigan
German Detroit
- Detroitlargest city and former capital of Michigan
Greek Ντητρόιτ
- Ντητρόιτ (Ntitróit)largest city and former capital of Michigan
Hebrew דטרויט
- דטרויט (det'roit')largest city and former capital of Michigan
Japanese デトロイト
- デトロイト (Detoroito)largest city and former capital of Michigan
Korean 디트로이트
- 디트로이트 (Diteuroiteu)largest city and former capital of Michigan
Latin Detroitum, Sinus Michiganus
- Detroitumlargest city and former capital of Michigan
- Sinus Michiganuslargest city and former capital of Michigan
Polish Detroit
- Detroitlargest city and former capital of Michigan
Portuguese Detroit
- Detroitlargest city and former capital of Michigan
Russian Детро́йт
- Детро́йт (Dɛtrójt)largest city and former capital of Michigan
Spanish Detroit
- Detroitlargest city and former capital of Michigan
Tamil டிட்ராயிட்
- டிட்ராயிட் (ṭiṭrāyiṭ)largest city and former capital of Michigan
Turkish Detroit
- Detroitlargest city and former capital of Michigan
Ukrainian Детро́йт
- Детро́йт (Detrójt)largest city and former capital of Michigan
Yiddish דעטרויט
- דעטרויט (detroyt)largest city and former capital of Michigan
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Detroit
All rhymes →Cite this entry
Detroit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Detroit
“Detroit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Detroit. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Detroit,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Detroit.
Source: Detroit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.