precinct

American  

[pree-singkt] / ˈpri sɪŋkt /

noun

1. a district, as of a city, marked out for governmental or administrative purposes, or for police protection.

   Synonyms:

   ward

2. Also called precinct house.  the police station in such a district.

3. Also called election district.  one of a fixed number of districts, each containing one polling place, into which a city, town, etc., is divided for voting purposes.

4. a space or place of definite or understood limits.

   Synonyms:

   territory

5. Often precincts. an enclosing boundary or limit.

6. precincts, the parts or regions immediately surrounding a place; environs.

   the precincts of a town.

7. Chiefly British. the ground immediately surrounding a church, temple, or the like.

8. a walled or otherwise bounded or limited space within which a building or place is situated.

   Synonyms:

   compound

---

precinct British  

/ ˈpriːsɪŋkt /

noun

1. 1. an enclosed area or building marked by a fixed boundary such as a wall

   2. such a boundary

2. an area in a town, often closed to traffic, that is designed or reserved for a particular purpose

   a shopping precinct

   pedestrian precinct

3. 1. a district of a city for administrative or police purposes

   2. the police responsible for such a district

4. a polling or electoral district

---

Etymology

Origin of precinct

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin praecinctum, noun use of neuter of Latin praecinctus, past participle of praecingere to gird about, surround, equivalent to prae- pre- + cing- (stem of cingere to surround; cinch ¹ ) + -tus past participle suffix

Example Sentences

It’s unfashionable in many precincts to admit it, but the market for precious metals still sends useful signals every once in a while.

From The Wall Street Journal

That these films now look so striking and preserve, as if in time capsules, both Paris and less urban Gallic precincts only increases their worth.

From The Wall Street Journal

In June 2020 Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle described the occupied protest around her city’s east police precinct as “a summer of love.”

From The Wall Street Journal

At a small shopping precinct in Rochdale, Greater Manchester is a pet shop called Amber Pets.

From BBC

This process created a rare island of higher ground in what is now the east/south-east section of the temple precinct.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• district
• neighborhood
• ward