prefecture
Americannoun
-
prefectures
plural
noun
-
the office, position, or area of authority of a prefect
-
the official residence of a prefect in France, Italy, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of prefecture
From the Latin word praefectūra, dating back to 1570–80. See prefect, -ure
Vocabulary lists containing prefecture
East Asia - Middle School
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East Asia - Introductory
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East Asia - High School
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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:
She was born on March 22, 1929, in Matsumoto, a city in Japan’s central Nagano prefecture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
"Search and inspection operations are still under way, involving 75 firefighters supported by specialist reinforcement teams," the prefecture said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Totoki, 62, grew up in Yamaguchi, a prefecture on the westernmost tip of Japan’s main island famous for lush forests and noodles fried on hot tiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
"Firefighters will carry out combined operations of clearing forest undergrowth and treating the edges of the fire in the dune area," a prefecture official said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
On March 19, the Japanese health ministry reported that it had found radioactive iodine in cows’ milk from farms in Fukushima prefecture.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
The agency has issued heatstroke alerts in 41 out of Japan's 47 prefectures, urging the public -- especially the many elderly -- to take steps to stay cool.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
Last month, Hong Kong Airlines suspended all flights to the southern Japanese prefectures of Kagoshima and Kumamoto, citing low demand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2025
For example, out of 47 Japanese prefectures, Okinawa ranks first on body mass index, second on beer consumption, and fourth on suicide rate among people over the age of 65.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 20, 2024
He and his two fellow-plaintiffs are suing the national government and police, as well as the prefectural police of Tokyo and Aichi prefectures.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 15, 2024
Three prefectures along the northeastern coast of the island—Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima—were closest to the fault and took the hardest hit.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
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.
