territory

American  

[ter-i-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈtɛr ɪˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

noun

plural

territories

1. any tract of land; region or district.

2. the land and waters belonging to or under the jurisdiction of a state, sovereign, etc.

   Synonyms:

   sovereignty, dominion, domain

3. any separate tract of land belonging to a state.

4. (often initial capital letter)

   1. a region or district of the U.S. not admitted to the Union as a state but having its own legislature, with a governor and other officers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

   2. some similar district elsewhere, as in Canada and Australia.

5. a field or sphere of action, thought, etc.; domain or province of something.

6. the region or district assigned to a representative, agent, or the like, as for making sales.

7. the area that an animal defends against intruders, especially of the same species.

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Territory ¹ British  

/ ˈtɛrɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. See Northern Territory

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territory ² British  

/ ˈtɛrɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. any tract of land; district

2. the geographical domain under the jurisdiction of a political unit, esp of a sovereign state

3. the district for which an agent, etc, is responsible

   a salesman's territory

4. an area inhabited and defended by an individual animal or a breeding group of animals

5. an area of knowledge

   science isn't my territory

6. (in football, hockey, etc) the area defended by a team

7. (often capital) a region of a country, esp of a federal state, that enjoys less autonomy and a lower status than most constituent parts of the state

8. (often capital) a protectorate or other dependency of a country

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territory Scientific  

/ tĕr′ĭ-tôr′ē /

1. A geographic area occupied by a single animal, mating pair, or group. Animals usually defend their territory vigorously against intruders, especially of the same species, but the defense often takes the form of prominent, threatening displays rather than out-and-out fighting. Different animals mark off territory in different ways, as by leaving traces of their scent along the boundaries or, in the case of birds, modifying their calls to keep out intruders.

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territory Idioms  

1. see come with the territory; cover the field (territory).

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Other Word Forms

• subterritory noun

Etymology

Origin of territory

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin territōrium “land around a town, district,” from terr(a) “land” + -i- -i- + -tōrium -tory ²

Example Sentences

Greenland’s population of 57,000 is thinly spread down the coast of some of the world’s most environmentally hostile territory, a country 80% covered with ice.

From The Wall Street Journal

The hour-long meeting between the US, Denmark and Greenland failed to bring a major breakthrough, although all sides agreed to set-up a high-level working group to discuss the future of the autonomous Danish territory.

From BBC

But a time jump, moving from a shtetl during World War I to 1930s Warsaw, pushes the film into more unexpected territory, as it encompasses issues of immigration, adoption and assimilation.

From The Wall Street Journal

Shortly beforehand, both sides doubled down on their divergent positions regarding the future of the Danish territory.

From Barron's

She added that court watchers are “not in long-wait territory yet,” given the court’s track record and the fact that it heard oral arguments in the case just two months ago.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• area
• colony
• country
• district
• enclave
• field
• land
• nation
• neighborhood
• province
• sector
• state
• street
• terrain
• zone