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• territory
  territory

  noun

  any tract of land; region or district.
• Territory
  Territory

  noun

  See Northern Territory

territory

American  

[ter-i-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈtɛr ɪˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

noun

• territories
  plural

1. 

   any tract of land; region or district.

2. the land and waters belonging to or under the jurisdiction of a state, sovereign, etc.

   Synonyms:

   sovereignty, dominion, domain

3. any separate tract of land belonging to a state.

4. (often initial capital letter)

   1. a region or district of the U.S. not admitted to the Union as a state but having its own legislature, with a governor and other officers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

   2. some similar district elsewhere, as in Canada and Australia.

5. a field or sphere of action, thought, etc.; domain or province of something.

6. the region or district assigned to a representative, agent, or the like, as for making sales.

7. the area that an animal defends against intruders, especially of the same species.

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territory ¹ British  

/ ˈtɛrɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. any tract of land; district

2. the geographical domain under the jurisdiction of a political unit, esp of a sovereign state

3. the district for which an agent, etc, is responsible

   a salesman's territory

4. an area inhabited and defended by an individual animal or a breeding group of animals

5. an area of knowledge

   science isn't my territory

6. (in football, hockey, etc) the area defended by a team

7. (often capital) a region of a country, esp of a federal state, that enjoys less autonomy and a lower status than most constituent parts of the state

8. (often capital) a protectorate or other dependency of a country

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Territory ² British  

/ ˈtɛrɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. See Northern Territory

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territory Scientific  

/ tĕr′ĭ-tôr′ē /

1. A geographic area occupied by a single animal, mating pair, or group. Animals usually defend their territory vigorously against intruders, especially of the same species, but the defense often takes the form of prominent, threatening displays rather than out-and-out fighting. Different animals mark off territory in different ways, as by leaving traces of their scent along the boundaries or, in the case of birds, modifying their calls to keep out intruders.

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territory Idioms  

1. see come with the territory; cover the field (territory).

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subterritory
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• territories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of territory

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin territōrium “land around a town, district,” from terr(a) “land” + -i- -i- + -tōrium -tory ²

Explanation

A certain area that's owned or under the control of someone is called a territory. Countries defend their territories during wars and dogs mark their territory in the yard by peeing on it. Although the territory of a country includes its entire area, the noun can also specifically refer to an area governed by a country, but one that isn't a state or province. Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, for example. The noun territory can also be used to describe any assigned region or area, such as a salesman whose territory is the Midwest — that means that he's in charge of business in there.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

territory Territory territories

That could signal that the market could be due for more upside from here, as much of the broader market has entered oversold territory.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 27, 2026

S&P Global Ratings downgraded Oracle’s credit rating to one notch above “junk” territory in July, saying that its “rapidly expanding AI infrastructure business is increasing its overall credit risk.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Then on Wednesday, Pakistan said it detected drones launched from Afghanistan into its territory and that all of them were "neutralised".

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

The move to junk grade territory from BB+ to BB highlighted the project’s vulnerability to default.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

My parents had managed to claim that patch of territory only after wandering far from their parents’ territories in even wilder woods.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Some of these cores at the Northern Territory Geological Survey are mudstone – a type of sedimentary rock formed from hardened seafloor mud.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026

The fossils of the Northern Territory, the oldest of which date back to 1.75 billion years ago, are the oldest currently known eukaryote fossils globally.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026

Another Outback creature, commonly found in the Northern Territory, is the buffalo.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

The footage was released by Northern Territory police ahead of the 25th anniversary of his disappearance, with the force saying it "remains committed to bringing this investigation to its fullest conclusion".

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

Once he regained control of the sugar island, he could use the Louisiana Territory to feed and supply all his sugar plan-tations in the Caribbean, and reap the rewards in white gold.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson

The platform supports cross-border payments in more than 220 countries and territories through partner networks, including Ant Group’s Alipay+.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Their methods offer a foundation for similar work elsewhere in France, Europe, and overseas territories.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Burtschell said the charity was hopeful the animals would explore, establish territories and start to form the relationships that were "so important" to a healthy beaver population.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

The data is based on information from advisory firm Oxford Economics, which modeled data center capex in 36 countries and territories and five regions.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

As for the constitutional question, he regarded federal jurisdiction over the western territories as a clear precedent that had been established, irony of ironies, by Jefferson’s executive action in the Louisiana Purchase.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• area
• colony
• country
• district
• enclave
• field
• land
• nation
• neighborhood
• province
• sector
• state
• street
• terrain
• zone