province

[prov-ins]

noun

1. an administrative division or unit of a country.

2. the provinces,

   1. the parts of a country outside of the capital or the largest cities.

   2. (in England) all parts of the country outside of London.

3. a country, territory, district, or region.

4. Geography.,  physiographic province.

5. a department or branch of learning or activity.

   the province of mathematics.

   Synonyms: area

6. sphere or field of activity or authority, as of a person; office, function, or business.

   Such decisions do not lie within his province.

7. a major subdivision of British India.

8. an ecclesiastical territorial division, as that within which an archbishop or a metropolitan exercises jurisdiction.

9. History/Historical.

   1. any of the North American colonies now forming major administrative divisions of Canada.

   2. any of certain colonies of Great Britain which are now part of the U.S.

10. Roman History.,  a country or territory outside of Italy, brought under the ancient Roman dominion and administered by a governor sent from Rome.

11. Mining.,  an individual mineral-producing area.

province

/ ˈprɒvɪns /

noun

1. a territory governed as a unit of a country or empire

2. a district, territory, or region

3. (plural) those parts of a country lying outside the capital and other large cities and regarded as outside the mainstream of sophisticated culture

4. ecology a subdivision of a region, characterized by a particular fauna and flora

5. an area or branch of learning, activity, etc

6. the field or extent of a person's activities or office

7. RC Church Church of England an ecclesiastical territory, usually consisting of several dioceses, and having an archbishop or metropolitan at its head

8. a major administrative and territorial subdivision of a religious order

9. history a region of the Roman Empire outside Italy ruled by a governor from Rome

Other Word Forms

• subprovince noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of province¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin prōvincia “province, official charge”

Word History and Origins

Origin of province¹

C14: from Old French, from Latin prōvincia conquered territory

Example Sentences

Some have smirked that the East Wing doesn’t matter much because it is primarily the province of first ladies, but that is a bizarre argument for its destruction.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His tariffs have forced job losses across several key sectors, and late Thursday, he announced he was ending trade talks over an anti-tariff ad produced by the government of Ontario province.

Read more on Barron's

The first sign of real problems came in September when Buenos Aires province, the country’s most populous region, held local elections in which Milei’s party was trounced.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The latest spiral started Sept. 7, when the Peronists drubbed Milei’s Freedom Advances party in local elections in Buenos Aires province.

Read more on Barron's

Ford has irked U.S. officials by removing U.S. alcohol from the province’s state-run liquor stores.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• colony 
• county 
• department 
• district 
• part 
• region 
• territory 
• zone