gerrymander

American  

[jer-i-man-der, ger-] / ˈdʒɛr ɪˌmæn dər, ˈgɛr- /

noun

1. U.S. Politics. the dividing of a state, county, etc., into election districts so as to give one political party a majority in many districts while concentrating the voting strength of the other party into as few districts as possible.

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verb (used with object)

1. U.S. Politics. to subject (a state, county, etc.) to a gerrymander.

gerrymander British  

/ ˈdʒɛrɪˌmændə /

verb

1. to divide the constituencies of (a voting area) so as to give one party an unfair advantage

2. to manipulate or adapt to one's advantage

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noun

1. an act or result of gerrymandering

gerrymander Cultural  

1. To change the boundaries of legislative districts to favor one party over another. Typically, the dominant party in a state legislature (which is responsible for drawing the boundaries of congressional districts) will try to concentrate the opposing party's strength in as few districts as possible, while giving itself likely majorities in as many districts as possible.

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Other Word Forms

• gerrymanderer
  noun
• gerrymandering
  noun

Etymology

Origin of gerrymander

1812, after E. Gerry (governor of Massachusetts, whose party redistricted the state in 1812) + (sala)mander, from the fancied resemblance of the map of Essex County, Mass., to this animal, after the redistricting

Explanation

Some politicians change the boundaries of their voting districts in order to benefit themselves or their political party. To manipulate the boundaries like this — often viewed as unfair — is to gerrymander. The verb gerrymander first appeared in 1812 when Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry redrew district boundaries, hoping it would help his party in an upcoming senate election. Then somebody noticed that the new district looked like a salamander, so they combined Gerry and -mander to create the new word gerrymander. And then a newspaper printed a cartoon with a giant salamander making fun of Gerry, which is what happens to politicians who don’t behave.

Example Sentences

But that same precedent mostly allowed lawmakers to gerrymander for the purpose of ensuring minority citizens had minority representation corresponding to their share of the population.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Manning, who currently represents the 6th District, said last week that she would change her mind and run again for Congress should litigation alleging the retooled 6th District is an illegal racial gerrymander is successful.

From Washington Times • Dec. 14, 2023

Would open nonpartisan primaries using ranked voting eliminate some of the incentives to gerrymander?

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2022

And when you present maps to a court, judges are struggling to identify what’s a gerrymander mathematically—many of them inspect gerrymanders visually and say this just doesn’t pass the smell test.

From Slate • May 24, 2022

Further, as the legislature apportioned the various electoral districts, the dominant party could, by means of the gerrymander, entrench itself even in unfriendly localities.

From The Boss and the Machine; a chronicle of the politicians and party organization by Orth, Samuel Peter

Related Words

• contrive
• engineer
• finesse
• manipulate