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.

---

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

---

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

This isn’t the only scandal shaking up the nation’s second-largest school district.

From Los Angeles Times

For days she has been waiting for rescue workers to dig through the flattened remains of what was once her daughter's flat in Resalat, a residential district in eastern Tehran.

From BBC

In the northern district of California, Judge Rita Lin granted Anthropic's request for a preliminary injunction in its suit against the government, freezing a presidential order that barred all federal agencies from using Anthropic technology.

From Barron's

The outlier in the positive manufacturing data, however, was the latest survey from the Richmond Fed, which found activity in the district was flat in March.

From Barron's

But Meta and Alphabet now face thousands of consolidated lawsuits filed by teenagers, school districts, and state attorneys general against the platforms, alongside other companies that run social-media sites.

From Barron's

Related Words

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