Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

minneapolis

/mɪniˈæpəlɪs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.87 in modern English

Syllables: min-ne-ap-o-lis
IPA: /mɪniˈæpəlɪs/

15

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

5

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

The largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County.

name

A city, the county seat of Ottawa County, Kansas, United States.

Example Sentences

"On Tuesday, a proposal to fundamentally restructure the Minneapolis police department in the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020 was soundly defeated, a setback that even many Democrats acknowledged could be laid at the feet of the “defund the police” movement that some within the party embraced last summer."

Etymology

Minnehapolis proposed in 1852 by Charles Hoag as a (misspelt) blend of Dakota mníȟaȟa (“waterfall”) (mní (“water”) + ȟaȟa (“curling”)) + Ancient Greek πόλις (pólis, “city”). Amended to Minneapolis at a town meeting the same year.

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: mníȟaȟa, πόλις

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /mɪniˈæpəlɪs/

Derived Forms

Minneapolitan Mpls Murderapolis

Rhymes With

indianapolis annapolis

Questions

How do you pronounce minneapolis?: The recorded pronunciation is /mɪniˈæpəlɪs/.
What does minneapolis mean?: The largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County.
Where does minneapolis come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce minneapolis

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “minneapolis”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/mɪniˈæpəlɪs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “minneapolis”.
Repeat and practice — Say “minneapolis” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.