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region

[ree-juh n]
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noun
  1. an extensive, continuous part of a surface, space, or body: a region of the earth.
  2. Usually regions. the vast or indefinite entirety of a space or area, or something compared to one: the regions of the firmament; the regions of the mind.
  3. a part of the earth's surface (land or sea) of considerable and usually indefinite extent: a tropical region.
  4. a district without respect to boundaries or extent: a charming region in Connecticut.
  5. a part or division of the universe, as the heavens: a galactic region.
  6. a large indefinite area or range of something specified; sphere: a region of authority.
  7. an area of interest, activity, pursuit, etc.; field: studies in the region of logic.
  8. an administrative division of a city or territory.
  9. Zoogeography. a major faunal area of the earth's surface, sometimes one regarded as a division of a larger area.
  10. Anatomy. a place in or a division of the body or a part of the body: the abdominal region.
  11. Mathematics.
    1. Also called domain.an open connected set.
    2. the union of such a set and some or all of its boundary points.
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Origin of region

1300–50; Middle English < Anglo-French regiun < Latin regiōn- (stem of regiō) direction, line, boundary, equivalent to reg(ere) to rule + -iōn- -ion
Related formsun·der·re·gion, noun

Synonyms

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1. area, section, portion. 4. locale, site, tract, quarter.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for region

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But all this was as yet only in the region of the feeling, not at all in that of the thinking.

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • God's beginnings are imperceptible, whether in the region of soul or of matter.

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • He might be a good doctor and a philanthropic one; his visits to this region looked like it.

  • We are now in the region of the Causses; around us rise the spurs of Sauveterre and Svrac.

    The Roof of France

    Matilda Betham-Edwards

  • From many points of view this region of survivals is full of interest.

    The Roof of France

    Matilda Betham-Edwards

British Dictionary definitions for region

region

noun
  1. any large, indefinite, and continuous part of a surface or space
  2. an area considered as a unit for geographical, functional, social, or cultural reasons
  3. an administrative division of a countryTuscany is one of the regions of the Italian Republic
  4. a realm or sphere of activity or interest
  5. range, area, or scopein what region is the price likely to be?
  6. a division or part of the bodaythe lumbar region
  7. (in Scotland from 1975 until 1996) any of the nine territorial divisions into which the mainland of Scotland was divided for purposes of local government; replaced in 1996 by council areasSee also islands council
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Word Origin

C14: from Latin regiō, from regere to govern
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for region

n.

c.1300, "tract of land of a considerable but indefinite extent," from Anglo-French regioun, Old French region "land, region, province" (12c.), from Latin regionem (nominative regio) "a district, portion of a country, territory, district; a direction, line; boundary line, limit," noun of state from past participle stem of regere "to direct, rule" (see regal). Phrase in the region of "about" (of numbers, etc.) is recorded from 1961.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
region in Medicine

region

(rē′jən)
n.
  1. An area of the body having natural or arbitrary boundaries.
  2. A portion of the body having a special nervous or vascular supply.
  3. A part of an organ with a special function.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Idioms and Phrases with region

region

see in the neighborhood (region) of.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.