precinct

American  

[pree-singkt] / ˈpri sɪŋkt /

noun

1. a district, as of a city, marked out for governmental or administrative purposes, or for police protection.

   Synonyms:

   ward

2. Also called precinct house.  the police station in such a district.

3. Also called election district.  one of a fixed number of districts, each containing one polling place, into which a city, town, etc., is divided for voting purposes.

4. a space or place of definite or understood limits.

   Synonyms:

   territory

5. Often precincts. an enclosing boundary or limit.

6. precincts, the parts or regions immediately surrounding a place; environs.

   the precincts of a town.

7. Chiefly British. the ground immediately surrounding a church, temple, or the like.

8. a walled or otherwise bounded or limited space within which a building or place is situated.

   Synonyms:

   compound

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precinct British  

/ ˈpriːsɪŋkt /

noun

1. 1. an enclosed area or building marked by a fixed boundary such as a wall

   2. such a boundary

2. an area in a town, often closed to traffic, that is designed or reserved for a particular purpose

   a shopping precinct

   pedestrian precinct

3. 1. a district of a city for administrative or police purposes

   2. the police responsible for such a district

4. a polling or electoral district

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Etymology

Origin of precinct

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin praecinctum, noun use of neuter of Latin praecinctus, past participle of praecingere to gird about, surround, equivalent to prae- pre- + cing- (stem of cingere to surround; cinch ¹ ) + -tus past participle suffix

Example Sentences

This process created a rare island of higher ground in what is now the east/south-east section of the temple precinct.

From Science Daily

As these books show, good storytelling need never leave the precincts of realism.

From The Wall Street Journal

But Ms. Machado led the opposition strategy to get out the vote and capture images of voter tally-sheets at each precinct at the end of the day.

From The Wall Street Journal

Officers took him to a local precinct before transferring him to a police station more than 200 miles away in Nairobi.

From The Wall Street Journal

As he sat down to face questions from the feds, his sentences traveled winding paths through vague precincts to fog-filled destinations.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• district
• neighborhood
• ward