district
Americannoun
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districts
plural
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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)
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districts,
present (3rd person singular)
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districted,
past participle, past
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districting
present participle
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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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districtsimple
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districtssimple
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have districtedperfect
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has districtedperfect
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am districtingprogressive
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are districtingprogressive
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is districtingprogressive
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have been districtingperfect progressive
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has been districtingperfect progressive
Past
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districtedsimple
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had districtedperfect
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was districtingprogressive
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were districtingprogressive
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had been districtingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
It is the twelfth day of deadlock between residents of the Garvaghy Road and the local district lodge of the Orange Order over the proposed march in Portadown, County Armagh.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
The complex fills a city block in the financial district with an office skyscraper, the high-rise Sheraton Grand hotel and a shopping center that is home to a Uniqlo and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Standing at the lectern, flanked by more than 10 others in support, the woman called for the school district to provide more security at Franklin High School to prevent another fatal tragedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
At the couple’s arraignment Tuesday, the district attorney intends to seek bail of $100 million, Hochman said, citing the couple’s wealth and the risk they could flee the country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The restaurant district that I’ve already just passed is closer, only two blocks, and with it, the safety of crowds.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Instead, the board tells school districts to use more subjective measures of student progress to determine graduation eligibility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
His wife, a stay-at-home mom and homemaker, earned around $13,000 a year working in local school districts.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
In 2006, the Cook Political Report classified more than 100 congressional districts as competitive.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026
Council members who support the measure say their time often can be better spent working in their districts and with other constituencies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
He had been a superintendent for a number of rural school districts in Mississippi, where he had spent his life forming busing systems and magnet schools to better integrate the black and white students.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
“Plaintiffs’ novel proposal is that we dismantle Georgia’s statewide PSC system and replace it with an entirely new districted system,” the court wrote.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2023
As school districted switched to distance learning in March, the nonprofit Partnership for Connecticut spent $24 million to provide 60,000 laptops to high school students.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 2, 2020
Less important but still a concern: Only one of our daughter’s friends from day care will attend the school that we are districted for.
From Slate ● Jan. 19, 2020
Is choosing a more diverse school worth requesting the transfer, or should we stick with our districted school?
From Slate ● Jan. 19, 2020
They have been divided into judicial districts for the holding of district and circuit courts of the United States, as States of the Union only can be districted.
From A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents Volume 6, part 2: Andrew Johnson by James D. (James Daniel) Richardson
The justices further acknowledged the emergence of robust two-party competition and the increasing sophistication of computer-generated districting maps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
In 1986, the court articulated a test for determining when election districting is racially discriminatory.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 12, 2023
“A districting plan must comply with the broader constitutional standard of upholding the right to vote on equal terms and to substantially equal voting power,” Associate Justice Robin Hudson wrote in the prevailing opinion.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 16, 2022
“I see the argument on the other side — a state interest in independent districting commissions. But as I read this, it is about districting in Los Angeles,” Chemerinsky said via email.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
In 1842, he went to the State Senate, opposed the Central Bank, and took an active part in the questions of internal improvements and districting the State, which then divided parties.
From Presidential Candidates: containing Sketches, Biographical, Personal and Political, of Prominent Candidates for the Presidency in 1860 by D. W. Bartlett
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.
