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

Any case would first have to clear a grand jury, then proceed through trial in federal district court, a timeline that would almost certainly extend well beyond Powell’s tenure as chair.

From Barron's

Any case would first have to clear a grand jury, then proceed through trial in federal district court, a timeline that would almost certainly extend well beyond Powell’s tenure as chair.

From Barron's

They frequently find themselves in unfamiliar territory, where they lack the ready access to local law enforcement and federal marshals they enjoy in their home districts.

From The Wall Street Journal

Shira Scheindlin, a former district judge who served with Hellerstein, called him an unflinching jurist who has done what “he thought was right in every case, whether it was popular or not.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Rep. Sam Liccardo, a freshman Democrat whose district includes key tech hubs such as Palo Alto and Mountain View, agrees his party needs to be in the mix.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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