An Americanism dating back to 1805–15
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last month Avila Chevalier knocked off a five-term incumbent in a Democratic primary for a congressional district that includes upper Manhattan and the Bronx.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
As the party’s nominee for Montana’s first congressional district, he relied on his blue-collar credentials from the start in one of the best campaign ads released this cycle.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
The facts in Callais mirrored the facts in Milligan: Louisiana too, had failed to draw a second Black opportunity congressional district under conditions of racially polarized voting.
From Slate ● May 13, 2026
Roberts said the Voting Rights Act as interpreted by past decisions suggests Alabama must draw a second congressional district that may well elect a Black candidate.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
“Give us the kind of schools I ask for,” cried Jim, “and I’ll fill a college like this in every congressional district in Iowa, or I’ll force you to tear this down and build larger.”
From The Brown Mouse by Quick, Herbert
Californians also will cast ballots for the first time using the new Congressional district boundaries authorized with last November’s passage of Proposition 50.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
An equally stinging rebuke came out of the primary race in the Eighth Congressional district, to replace Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
In New Jersey’s 12th Congressional district, Dr. Adam Hamawy is bringing a national profile and the support of a sitting senator to the race, which could make the difference in a crowded Democratic primary.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2026
Maine's 2nd Congressional district encompasses the majority of the state north of Augusta and Portland.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2024
The Illinois delegation, which had contained a large majority of Democrats in the Thirty-eighth Congress, now returned strongly Republican,—Mr. Lincoln's victory of 1864 having, with three exceptions, carried with it every Congressional district.
From Twenty Years of Congress, Volume 2 From Lincoln to Garfield, with a Review of the Events Which Led to the Political Revolution of 1860 by Blaine, James Gillespie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
