Detroit (IPA: [dəˈtɹɔɪt]) (French: Détroit, pronounced [detʁwa] (help·info)) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat for Wayne County. The city is located on the Detroit River, north of Windsor, Ontario. Established in 1701 by French fur traders, it is the center of an industrial area in the American Rust Belt. Today it is known as the world's traditional automotive center and an important source of popular music—legacies celebrated by the city's two familiar nicknames, Motor City and Motown. The city ultimately gets its name from the Detroit River, which in turn derives from the French, "Rivière du Détroit", literally, the "River of the Strait". The name alludes to the connection the river forms between Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie, although it is not literally a strait.

As of 2004, Detroit ranked as the United States' 11th most populous city with 900,198 residents; this is half of the peak population it boasted in the 1950s, and Detroit leads the nation in terms of declining urban population. Detroit's crime rate has created international notoriety and a tarnished reputation. The city continues to struggle with the burdens of racial disharmony between itself and its suburban neighbors, and an antiquated economy. In the 1990s and 2000s the city experienced a moderate revival with the construction of the Compuware headquarters and three gambling casinos, amid budget shortfalls and cuts in city services.

Residents are generally known as "Detroiters". "Detroit" is also sometimes used as shorthand for the Metro Detroit region, which is unofficially referred to as "Southeast Michigan." Common colloquialisms for the city are The D and The 313 (its area code).