segment

American  

[seg-muhnt, seg-ment, seg-ment] / ˈsɛg mənt, ˈsɛg mɛnt, sɛgˈmɛnt /

noun

segments plural

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.

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verb (used with or without object)

segments, present (3rd person singular) segmented, past participle, past segmenting present participle

1. to separate or divide into segments.

segment British  

/ 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

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verb

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

segment Scientific  

/ sĕg′mənt /

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.

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Synonym Usage

See part.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• segments
  plural

Participles

• segmenting
  present
• segmented
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• segment
  simple
• segments
  simple
• have segmented
  perfect
• has segmented
  perfect
• are segmenting
  progressive
• am segmenting
  progressive
• is segmenting
  progressive
• have been segmenting
  perfect progressive
• has been segmenting
  perfect progressive

Past

• segmented
  simple
• had segmented
  perfect
• was segmenting
  progressive
• were segmenting
  progressive
• had been segmenting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will segment
  simple
• will have segmented
  perfect
• will be segmenting
  progressive
• will have been segmenting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of segment

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

Explanation

A segment is one of several pieces that together create a whole. You could offer a segment of your orange to your girlfriend as a Valentine's Day gift. She’ll probably enjoy the orange, but she may break up with you. Lots of things can have segments. You can talk about a segment of a talk show, a segment of a sphere, or the segment of students in your high school who want to join the Drama Club — the ones singing and dancing in the cafeteria every day. You can also use segment as a verb: when you chop down that oak tree in your front yard, you have to segment the trunk into smaller pieces for firewood.

Example Sentences

Segment revenue growth is seen between 14% to 16%, versus consensus of 10% growth, she adds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Segment sales grew by 16% from the year before, a strong showing from a mature business.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

More than 75,000 BYDs were sold in Mexico last year, according to Segment Y’s tally.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026

That builds on the agreement reached with the government earlier this month to more than triple the production of PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptor missiles, to 2,000 a year from 600.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 29, 2026

Segment number one has only a back piece, you see.

From The Insect Folk by Morley, Margaret Warner

Related Words

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