Dorset

¹ American  

[dawr-sit] / ˈdɔr sɪt /

noun

1. 1st Earl of. Thomas Sackville.

2. Dorsetshire.

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Dorset ² American  

[dawr-sit] / ˈdɔr sɪt /

noun

1. an Indigenous culture that flourished from a.d. 100–1000 in the central and eastern regions of Arctic North America, preceding the Inuit culture.

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Dorset British  

/ ˈdɔːsɪt /

noun

1. a county in SW England, on the English Channel: mainly hilly but low-lying in the east: the geographical and ceremonial county includes Bournemouth and Poole, which became independent unitary authorities in 1997. Administrative centre: Dorchester. Pop (excluding unitary authorities): 398 200 (2003 est). Area (excluding unitary authorities): 2544 sq km (982 sq miles)

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Etymology

Origin of Dorset

After Cape Dorset in northern Canada

Example Sentences

The same conditions that make for ideal private gardens in West Dorset also enrich a farm-to-table food culture.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

Also keep an eye on the website of the National Garden Scheme, a charity that posts occasional open-house dates for some 3,300 private gardens across the U.K., including many in West Dorset.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

In West Dorset, the more rugged part of Dorset county, this is when the holloways, or sunken lanes, are transformed into warrens of glossy ferns.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

Dorset Police said it arrested 11 people at the event, near East Lulworth, that drew about 2,000 people before being shut down on Sunday evening.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

Cynthia E.—the girl who’d said about me being Ruth’s “natural successor” that time in the Art Room—I wouldn’t have minded her, but she went to Dorset with the rest of her crowd.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro