bailiwick

[ bey-luh-wik ]

/ ˈbeɪ ləˌwɪk /

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See synonyms for bailiwick on Thesaurus.com

noun

the district within which a bailie or bailiff has jurisdiction.

a person's area of skill, knowledge, authority, or work: to confine suggestions to one's own bailiwick.

OTHER WORDS FOR bailiwick

2 domain, department, sphere, territory, turf.

See synonyms for bailiwick on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of bailiwick

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, equivalent to baili- bailie + wick wick³

OTHER WORDS FROM bailiwick

sub·bail·i·wick, noun

Words nearby bailiwick

bailee, bailey, Bailey bridge, bailie, bailiff, bailiwick, Baillie, bailment, bailor, bailout, bailsman

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use bailiwick in a sentence

“We try to think of ourselves as about a lot more than the birds, because really all nature is our bailiwick,” Alexander said.
The Audubon Naturalist Society is flush with a new donation: Composting toilets|John Kelly|October 6, 2021|Washington Post
As he traveled and collected he constantly sent back seed samples, hundreds of thousands of them in total, to the institutes and field stations under his bailiwick.
The Botanist Who Defied Stalin - Issue 99: Universality|Lee Alan Dugatkin|April 21, 2021|Nautilus
He does so, hands in his star and rides on, leaving his bailiwick in the condition his patrons wanted.
Summers Gave Obama Cover|Michael Thomas|September 22, 2010|DAILY BEAST
In 1429 the English occupied the bailiwick of Chaumont and garrisoned several fortresses in Bassigny.
The Life of Joan of Arc, Vol. 1 and 2 (of 2)|Anatole France

Its tolerble late, if you happen to know it, and youre a little out of your own bailiwick, arent you?
Wheat and Huckleberries|Charlotte Marion (White) Vaile
Now these two bailiffs kept their bailiwick in peace many years, until they were said to be remiss in keeping the King's justice.
The Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond: A Picture of Monastic Life in the Days of Abbot Samson|Jocelin de Brakelond
This guy, Lester, makes out a bond before we're within two days' drive of his bailiwick.
Square Deal Sanderson|Charles Alden Seltzer
All relations between the two women had been severed irrevocably, each keeping to her own respective bailiwick.
The Song of the Wolf|Frank Mayer

British Dictionary definitions for bailiwick

bailiwick

/ (ˈbeɪlɪwɪk) /

noun

law the area over which a bailiff has jurisdiction

a person's special field of interest, authority, or skill

Word Origin for bailiwick

C15: from baili(e) + wick ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bailiwick

OTHER WORDS FOR bailiwick

Origin of bailiwick

OTHER WORDS FROM bailiwick

Words nearby bailiwick

Words related to bailiwick

How to use bailiwick in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bailiwick

Word Origin for bailiwick