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• territorial
  territorial

  adjective

  of or relating to territory or land.
• Territorial
  Territorial

  noun

  a member of a territorial army, esp the British Army's Territorial and Volunteer Reserve

territorial

American  

[ter-i-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-] / ˌtɛr ɪˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr- /

adjective

1. 

   of or relating to territory or land.

2. of, pertaining to, associated with, or restricted to a particular territory or district; local.

3. pertaining or belonging to the territory of a state or ruler.

4. (of an animal) characterized by territoriality; defending an area against intruders, especially of the same species.

5. Often Territorial of or relating to a territory of the United States.

6. Military. Territorial, organized on a local basis for home defense.

   the British Territorial Army.

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noun

• territorials
  plural

1. Territorial, a member of the British Territorial Army.

2. a soldier in a territorial army.

territorial ¹ British  

/ ˌtɛrɪˈtɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a territory or territories

2. restricted to or owned by a particular territory

   the Indian territorial waters

3. local or regional

4. pertaining to a territorial army, providing a reserve of trained men for use in emergency

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Territorial ² British  

/ ˌtɛrɪˈtɔːrɪəl /

noun

1. a member of a territorial army, esp the British Army's Territorial and Volunteer Reserve

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonterritorial
  adjective
• preterritorial
  adjective
• quasi-territorial
  adjective
• subterritorial
  adjective
• nonterritorially
  adverb
• quasi-territorially
  adverb
• territorially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• territorials
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of territorial

First recorded in 1615–25; from Late Latin territōriāli; see territory, -al ¹

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Explanation

If your dog barks whenever someone walks through your yard, it might be because she's territorial, or inclined to protect her territory from trespassers. A person — or an animal — who guards or defends the area she considers to belong to her is territorial. You can also use the adjective to describe anything relating to the territory itself. For example, territorial boundaries are invisible lines that mark the division between one country, or territory, and another. The Latin root, territorium, "land around a town," comes from terra, "earth or land."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

territorial Territorial territorials

A third vessel was hit just outside Romania’s territorial waters, leaving seven crew members missing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

By this time, America’s territorial growth was winding down.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026

“We Mexicans don’t want interference, interventionism, or violations of our territorial integrity,” she said before tens of thousands of supporters in Mexico City’s central Zócalo square late last month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Romania said it had mounted a rescue mission after "a fire on the ship Royad Mammadov" outside the country's territorial waters.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

“Fairies are highly territorial, nonmigratory creatures. Put them in a livable environment and they stay put. Especially an environment like Fablehaven, with gardens and plentiful food and other enchanted critters.”

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

Territorial acquisition was no longer necessary to achieve the objectives that earlier generations had pursued through expansion.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026

To speed up the response, Spain's cabinet on Tuesday approved the creation of a "single command" for Ceuta, to be led by Territorial Policy Minister Angel Víctor Torres.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

The businessman signed up to fight just before Russia's full-scale invasion – "we all knew war was inevitable" – initially joining the Territorial Defence, then passing through some of the fiercest battles, including for Bakhmut.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026

Territorial concessions and security guarantees have been at the forefront of unresolved issues for negotiators.

From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2026

The headline for a single-column story on slavery was often long and complex: “Northern and Southern Democrats—Southern Control —The Territorial Slavery Question—Its present Position and Future Prospects— Compromise Necessary, &c.”

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Twenty-eight of the Skye territorials lived within sight of Portree harbour.

From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2014

At the tables handsome flying Johnnies, naval Jacks in full dress, guardsmen, territorials, and just plain civics sat making conversational love.

From Time Magazine Archive

Britain now has 827,000 men & women in uniform, counting the regular army, navy and air force, plus draftees and territorials.

From Time Magazine Archive

That would give Italy 600,000 men under arms, not counting territorials.

From Time Magazine Archive

The territorials who are in charge of them say that they were much more lively at first.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

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