district
Americannoun
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districts
plural
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a division of territory, as of a country, state, or county, marked off for administrative, electoral, or other purposes.
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a region or locality.
the theater district; the Lake District.
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British. a subdivision of a county or a town.
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the District, the District of Columbia; Washington, D.C.
verb (used with object)
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districts,
present (3rd person singular)
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districted,
past participle, past
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districting
present participle
noun
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an area of land marked off for administrative or other purposes
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( as modifier )
district nurse
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a locality separated by geographical attributes; region
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any subdivision of any territory, region, etc
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(in England from 1974 and in Wales 1974–96) any of the subdivisions of the nonmetropolitan counties that elects a council responsible for local planning, housing, rates, etc See also metropolitan district
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(in Scotland until 1975) a landward division of a county
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(in Scotland 1975–96) any of the subdivisions of the regions that elected a council responsible for environmental health services, housing, etc
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any of the 26 areas into which Northern Ireland has been divided since 1973. Elected district councils are responsible for environmental health services, etc
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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districtsimple
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districtssimple
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have districtedperfect
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has districtedperfect
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am districtingprogressive
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are districtingprogressive
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is districtingprogressive
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have been districtingperfect progressive
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has been districtingperfect progressive
Past
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districtedsimple
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had districtedperfect
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was districtingprogressive
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were districtingprogressive
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had been districtingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of district
First recorded in 1605–15; from French, from Medieval Latin distrīctus “exercise of justice, restraining of offenders,” derivative of Latin distringere “to stretch out; detain, occupy,” equivalent to di- suffix of separation + strig- (base of stringere “to bind, tie”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; see distrain, di- 2
Explanation
Use the word district to talk about a specific part of your city or town. Your school district, for example, is an officially marked area that designates which school students can attend. When a government outlines a region of a state, city, or town, that area is called a district. Besides school districts, there are also congressional districts and electoral districts, which are set up specifically for organizing voting and governing. In the 1600s, the word district was used for a feudal lord's territory, and it came from the Latin districtus, "territory of jurisdiction," with its root of distringere, "draw apart."
Vocabulary lists containing district
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Pasadena Humane, which also launched an investigation into the incident, said in its Facebook post that it had completed that investigation and referred the case to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
It’s also why it’s good that, in light of new information, the district attorney is re-opening the case.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
She said she had "lost faith" in the Tompkins County district attorney, who was previously leading the investigation.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Michael Vann, district councillor for Fairford, called the meeting "very much a first step", if a "tiny bit belated".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Instead, they snaked along the canals that led deeper inland, toward the metals district.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
Under Assembly Bill 645, 125 cameras will be placed in 15 council districts in high-injury areas, school zones and street racing hot-spots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Hinojosa has also promised to stop state takeovers of local school districts and has criticized the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
In statements, Denver and Boston public school districts said they are committed to helping students and teachers navigate AI in a way that facilitates learning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Residents in several districts were advised to close their windows until the smoke cleared.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
About President Snow, the unrest in the districts.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
“Plaintiffs’ novel proposal is that we dismantle Georgia’s statewide PSC system and replace it with an entirely new districted system,” the court wrote.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2023
As school districted switched to distance learning in March, the nonprofit Partnership for Connecticut spent $24 million to provide 60,000 laptops to high school students.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 2, 2020
Is choosing a more diverse school worth requesting the transfer, or should we stick with our districted school?
From Slate ● Jan. 19, 2020
Less important but still a concern: Only one of our daughter’s friends from day care will attend the school that we are districted for.
From Slate ● Jan. 19, 2020
I commenced my part of the labors at once, employing three persons to assist me, and we districted Culpepper, so that no one should interfere with the grounds of the other.
From Campaigns of a Non-Combatant, and His Romaunt Abroad During the War by George Alfred Townsend
The justices further acknowledged the emergence of robust two-party competition and the increasing sophistication of computer-generated districting maps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
In 1986, the court articulated a test for determining when election districting is racially discriminatory.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 12, 2023
“A districting plan must comply with the broader constitutional standard of upholding the right to vote on equal terms and to substantially equal voting power,” Associate Justice Robin Hudson wrote in the prevailing opinion.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 16, 2022
“I see the argument on the other side — a state interest in independent districting commissions. But as I read this, it is about districting in Los Angeles,” Chemerinsky said via email.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
This done, each State passes a law, districting the State according to the number of members assigned it, and each district elects its own representative for Congress.
From Lands of the Slave and the Free Cuba, the United States, and Canada by Henry A. Murray
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.
