segment

[seg-muhnt, seg-ment, seg-ment]

noun

1. one of the parts into which something naturally separates or is divided; a division, portion, or section.

   a segment of an orange.

2. Geometry.

   1. a part cut off from a figure, especially a circular or spherical one, by a line or plane, as a part of a circular area contained by an arc and its chord or by two parallel lines or planes.

   2. Also called line segment. a finite section of a line.

3. Zoology.

   1. any of the rings that compose the body of an annelid or arthropod.

   2. any of the discrete parts of the body of an animal, especially of an arthropod.

4. an object, as a machine part, having the form of a segment or sector of a circle.

5. Computers.

   1. a portion of a program, often one that can be loaded and executed independently of other portions.

   2. a unit of data in a database.

6. an arclike support on which the typebars of a typewriter rest when not in use.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to separate or divide into segments.

segment

/ ˈsɛɡməntərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. maths

   1. a part of a line or curve between two points

   2. a part of a plane or solid figure cut off by an intersecting line, plane, or planes, esp one between a chord and an arc of a circle

2. one of several parts or sections into which an object is divided; portion

3. zoology any of the parts into which the body or appendages of an annelid or arthropod are divided

4. linguistics a speech sound considered in isolation

verb

1. to cut or divide (a whole object) into segments

segment

1. The portion of a line between any two of its points.

2. The region bounded by an arc of a circle and the chord that connects the endpoints of the arc.

3. The portion of a sphere included between a pair of parallel planes that intersect it or are tangent to it.

Other Word Forms

• segmentary adjective
• segmentate adjective
• intersegment noun
• multisegment adjective
• multisegmented adjective
• nonsegmentary adjective
• nonsegmented adjective
• unsegmentary adjective
• unsegmented adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of segment¹

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin segmentum, equivalent to sec(āre) “to cut” + -mentum -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of segment¹

C16: from Latin segmentum, from secāre to cut

Synonym Study

See part.

Example Sentences

"There is a small segment of people for whom this is central to their sense of identity."

From BBC

ABC affiliates complied with Carr’s request, pulling the segment from circulation.

From Salon

The four late night hosts weighed in on ABC’s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s show indefinitely in their monologues and in other segments.

From Los Angeles Times

This is particularly the case in his most recent publication, “The Quiet Ear,” for which we are collaborating on a brief segment in London soon.

From Los Angeles Times

He opened his segment “A Closer Look” on Thursday by cracking jokes about how anything negative he’s said about the president is an AI-generated deepfake.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• division 
• piece 
• portion 
• section 
• sector 
• slice