Detroit en · PROPN
Pronunciation
Etymology
From French détroit (“strait”) in Rivière du Détroit (Detroit River). Doublet of district, via Latin.
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.
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 2025: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 2021:
-
(metonymically) The 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:
Deriveds
Detroit River · Detroit Lakes · Detroit City · Detoilet · Detroiter
Synonyms
D-Town (city of Michigan) · The D (city of Michigan) · D (city of Michigan) · Motown (city of Michigan) · Motor City (city of Michigan) · Arsenal of Democracy (city of Michigan) · Hockeytown (city of Michigan) · 3-1-3 (city of Michigan) · Rock City (city of Michigan)
Translations (25)
ru Детро́йт (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · ja デトロイト (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · tr Detroit (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · chr ᏗᏠᏘ (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · la Sinus Michiganus (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · pt Detroit (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · eo Detrojto (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · fr Détroit (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · de Detroit (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · ta டிட்ராயிட் (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · he דטרויט (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · oj Waawiyaataanong (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · yue 底特律 (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · am ደትሮይት (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · el Ντητρόιτ (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · cmn 底特律 (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · hy Դետրոյտ (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · ko 디트로이트 (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · pl Detroit (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · arz ديترويت (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · la Detroitum (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · es Detroit (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · ar ديترويت (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · uk Детро́йт (largest city and former capital of Michigan) · yi דעטרויט (largest city and former capital of Michigan)