Detroit

See also: détroit and Détroit

English

Etymology

From French détroit (“strait”) in Rivière du Détroit (Detroit River). Doublet of district, via Latin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪˈtɹɔɪt/, /ˈdiːtɹɔɪt/, (sometimes) [dɪˈt͡ʃɹɔɪt]
• (Michigan) IPA^(key): /ˈdiːtɹɔɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɪt
• Hyphenation: De‧troit

Proper noun

Detroit

2. 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.
   • 2017 October 5, Aaron Foley, “Why Detroit’s city storyteller wants to ban the word ‘gritty’”, in CNN‎^[1], archived from the original on 1 November 2021:

     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.

   • 2025 October 8, Stephen Starr, “‘I don’t feel safe any more’: Dearborn’s Arab Americans on rising Islamophobia”, in The Guardian‎^[2], archived from the original on 8 October 2025:

     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.

3. (metonymic) The United States' automotive industry.
   • 2009, John Anderson, John Rich, “Shuttin' Detroit Down”, performed by John Rich:

     'Cause in the real world they're shutting Detroit down / While the boss man takes his bonus pay and jets on out of town.

Synonyms

• (city of Michigan): 3-1-3 (slang), Arsenal of Democracy (dated), D / The D (colloquial), D-Town (informal), Hockeytown (informal), Motor City, Motown (informal), Rock City (informal)

Derived terms

• Detoilet
• Detroit City
• Detroit Lakes
• Detroit River

Translations

largest city and former capital of Michigan

• Amharic: ደትሮይት (dätroyt)
• Arabic: ديترويت f (ditrūyt)

  Egyptian Arabic: ديترويت f (detrūit)

• Armenian: Դետրոյտ (hy) (Detroyt)
• Cherokee: ᏗᏠᏘ (ditloti)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 底特律 (dai² dak⁶ leot⁶)

  Mandarin: 底特律 (zh) (dǐtèlǜ)

• Esperanto: Detrojto
• French: Détroit (fr) m
• German: Detroit (de) n
• Greek: Ντητρόιτ (Ntitróit)
• Hebrew: דטרויט (det'roit')
• Japanese: デトロイト (Detoroito)
• Korean: 디트로이트 (Diteuroiteu)
• Latin: Detroitum m, Sinus Michiganus m
• Ojibwe: Waawiyaataanong
• Polish: Detroit (pl) n
• Portuguese: Detroit (pt) f
• Russian: Детро́йт (ru) m (Dɛtrójt)
• Spanish: Detroit (es)
• Tamil: டிட்ராயிட் (ṭiṭrāyiṭ)
• Turkish: Detroit
• Ukrainian: Детро́йт m (Detrójt)
• Yiddish: דעטרויט (detroyt)

Further reading

• Detroit on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• dottier, i-dotter

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English Detroit, from French Détroit, from détroit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /de.tʁwa/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: détroit, Détroit

Proper noun

Detroit ?

1. Detroit; alternative form of Détroit
   1. a city in Michigan, United States
   2. a river in Michigan, United States and Ontario, Canada

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English Detroit, from French détroit (“strait”), from Latin districtus. Doublet of distrito.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /deˈtɾɔj.t͡ʃi/ [deˈtɾɔɪ̯.t͡ʃi], /deˈtɾɔjt͡ʃ/ [deˈtɾɔɪ̯t͡ʃ], /deˈtɾɔjt/ [deˈtɾɔɪ̯t]

• Rhymes: -ɔjt͡ʃi

Proper noun

Detroit f

1. Detroit (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)

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deˈtɾoit/ [d̪eˈt̪ɾoi̯t̪]
• Rhymes: -oit
• Syllabification: De‧troit

Proper noun

Detroit ?

1. Detroit (a city in the United States)

Derived terms

• por detroit