district
Americannoun
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a division of territory, as of a country, state, or county, marked off for administrative, electoral, or other purposes.
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a region or locality.
the theater district; the Lake District.
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British. a subdivision of a county or a town.
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the District, the District of Columbia; Washington, D.C.
verb (used with object)
noun
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an area of land marked off for administrative or other purposes
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( as modifier )
district nurse
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a locality separated by geographical attributes; region
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any subdivision of any territory, region, etc
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(in England from 1974 and in Wales 1974–96) any of the subdivisions of the nonmetropolitan counties that elects a council responsible for local planning, housing, rates, etc See also metropolitan district
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(in Scotland until 1975) a landward division of a county
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(in Scotland 1975–96) any of the subdivisions of the regions that elected a council responsible for environmental health services, housing, etc
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any of the 26 areas into which Northern Ireland has been divided since 1973. Elected district councils are responsible for environmental health services, etc
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has districtedperfect 3rd person singular
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have districtedperfect
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are districtingprogressive
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have been districtingperfect progressive
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has been districtingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am districtingprogressive 1st person singular
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is districtingprogressive 3rd person singular
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districtssingular 3rd person
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districtingparticiple
Past
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had districtedperfect
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was districtingprogressive singular
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had been districtingperfect progressive
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were districtingprogressive plural
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districtedparticiple
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districtedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of district
First recorded in 1605–15; from French, from Medieval Latin distrīctus “exercise of justice, restraining of offenders,” derivative of Latin distringere “to stretch out; detain, occupy,” equivalent to di- suffix of separation + strig- (base of stringere “to bind, tie”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; see distrain, di- 2
Explanation
Use the word district to talk about a specific part of your city or town. Your school district, for example, is an officially marked area that designates which school students can attend. When a government outlines a region of a state, city, or town, that area is called a district. Besides school districts, there are also congressional districts and electoral districts, which are set up specifically for organizing voting and governing. In the 1600s, the word district was used for a feudal lord's territory, and it came from the Latin districtus, "territory of jurisdiction," with its root of distringere, "draw apart."
Vocabulary lists containing district
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They initially had the blessing of Robert Tracci, President Donald Trump’s top official in the Western District of Virginia, to move forward.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026
In both cases, prosecutors at the Southern District of New York used information from other sources to bolster their identification of the defendants.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
Soto-Martínez represents District 13, which includes many immigrant and mixed-status communities living in Echo Park, Hollywood and Filipinotown.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
"Matters came to a head during a family holiday in Easter 2023 in the Lake District, and in October of that year Sarah Robb finally told the police what had been happening to her."
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
By midafternoon I was on my way to Mishnory in a car put at my disposal by the Commensal Farm Centrality of East Homsvashom, District Eight.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
