district

American  

[dis-trikt] / ˈdɪs trɪkt /

noun

1. a division of territory, as of a country, state, or county, marked off for administrative, electoral, or other purposes.

2. a region or locality.

   the theater district; the Lake District.

3. British.  a subdivision of a county or a town.

4. the District, the District of Columbia; Washington, D.C.

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verb (used with object)

1. to divide into districts.

district British  

/ ˈdɪstrɪkt /

noun

1. 1. an area of land marked off for administrative or other purposes

   2. ( as modifier )

      district nurse

2. a locality separated by geographical attributes; region

3. any subdivision of any territory, region, etc

4. (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

5. (in Scotland until 1975) a landward division of a county

6. (in Scotland 1975–96) any of the subdivisions of the regions that elected a council responsible for environmental health services, housing, etc

7. any of the 26 areas into which Northern Ireland has been divided since 1973. Elected district councils are responsible for environmental health services, etc

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verb

1. (tr) to divide into districts

Other Word Forms

• interdistrict adjective
• outdistrict noun
• predistrict noun

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; distrain, di- ²

Example Sentences

After that, the judges within that federal district vote to name a temporary U.S. attorney until someone can be confirmed to the post.

From The Wall Street Journal

On Sunday, thousands of people had gathered outside the charred buildings in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district to lay flowers and leave mementos and messages such as “rest in peace” and “Hong Kong be strong.”

From The Wall Street Journal

In 2024, Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from Congress earlier this year, won the district by 22 points.

From Salon

Seven of eight tower blocks in a housing in the northerly Tai Po district rapidly went up in flames on Wednesday.

From BBC

More than 1,000 people from across the Chinese city flocked to the housing complex in Hong Kong's northern Tai Po district to pay respects on Sunday, forming huge queues, an AFP reporter saw.

From Barron's

Related Words

• commune
• community
• department
• locality
• neighborhood
• parish
• precinct
• region
• section
• sector
• territory