province

American  

[prov-ins] / ˈprɒv ɪns /

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.

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province British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• subprovince noun

Etymology

Origin of province

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

Example Sentences

An initial group of soldiers was deployed to several parts of Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, in March.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

They’re overzealous because the law is very clear that oversight of these markets is the exclusive province of the federal government.

From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026

Zhang, whose original name was Zhang Zibiao, was born in May 1984 in a small county in Qiqihar, a city in north-eastern Heilongjiang province.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

The allegations were insistent enough for the president of the province of Prussia to bring the matter to the attention of the minister of clerical affairs and culture in Berlin.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

One stack represented all the people who crossed the northern border out of Chattana province that day; the other stack was for all of the people who had come in.

From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat

Related Words

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