section

American  

[sek-shuhn] / ˈsɛk ʃən /

noun

• sections
  plural

1. a part that is cut off or separated.

2. a distinct part or subdivision of anything, as an object, country, community, class, or the like: the left section of a drawer.

   the members' section of a golf course;

   the left section of a drawer.

3. a distinct part or subdivision of a writing, as of a newspaper, legal code, chapter, etc.: section 2 of the bylaws.

   the financial section of a daily paper;

   section 2 of the bylaws.

4. one of a number of parts that can be fitted together to make a whole.

   sections of a fishing rod.

5. (in most of the United States west of Ohio) one of the 36 numbered subdivisions, each one square mile (2.59 sq. km or 640 acres), of a township.

6. an act or instance of cutting; separation by cutting.

7. Surgery.

   1. the making of an incision.

   2. an incision.

8. a thin slice of a tissue, mineral, or the like, as for microscopic examination.

   Synonyms:

   specimen, slice, segment, part

9. a representation of an object as it would appear if cut by a plane, showing its internal structure.

10. Military.

    1. a small unit consisting of two or more squads.

    2. Also called staff section. any of the subdivisions of a staff.

    3. a small tactical division in naval and air units.

11. Railroads.

    1. a division of a sleeping car containing both an upper and a lower berth.

    2. a length of trackage, roadbed, signal equipment, etc., maintained by one crew.

12. any of two or more trains, buses, or the like, running on the same route and schedule at the same time, one right behind the other, and considered as one unit, as when a second is necessary to accommodate more passengers than the first can carry.

    On holidays the New York to Boston train runs in three sections.

13. a segment of a naturally segmented fruit, as of an orange or grapefruit.

14. a division of an orchestra or band containing all the instruments of one class: the string section.

    a rhythm section;

    the string section.

15. Bookbinding. signature.

16. Also called section mark. a mark used to indicate a subdivision of a book, chapter, or the like, or as a mark of reference to a footnote.

17. Theater. one of a series of circuits for controlling certain lights, as footlights.

18. shape.

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verb (used with object)

• sections,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sectioned,
  past participle,  past
• sectioning
  present participle

1. to cut or divide into sections.

2. to cut through so as to present a section.

3. Surgery. to make an incision.

section British  

/ ˈsɛkʃən /

noun

1. a part cut off or separated from the main body of something

2. a part or subdivision of a piece of writing, book, etc

   the sports section of the newspaper

3. one of several component parts

4. a distinct part or subdivision of a country, community, etc

5. an area one mile square (640 acres) in a public survey, esp in the western parts of the US and Canada

6. a plot of land for building on, esp in a suburban area

7. the section of a railway track that is maintained by a single crew or is controlled by a particular signal box

8. the act or process of cutting or separating by cutting

9. a representation of a portion of a building or object exposed when cut by an imaginary vertical plane so as to show its construction and interior

10. geometry

    1. a plane surface formed by cutting through a solid

    2. the shape or area of such a plane surface Compare cross section

11. surgery any procedure involving the cutting or division of an organ, structure, or part, such as a Caesarian section

12. a thin slice of biological tissue, mineral, etc, prepared for examination by a microscope

13. a segment of an orange or other citrus fruit

14. a small military formation, typically comprising two or more squads or aircraft

15. a fare stage on a bus, tram, etc

16. music

    1. an extended division of a composition or movement that forms a coherent part of the structure

       the development section

    2. a division in an orchestra, band, etc, containing instruments belonging to the same class

       the brass section

17. Also called: signature, gathering, gather, quire. a folded printing sheet or sheets ready for gathering and binding

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verb

1. to cut or divide into sections

2. to cut through so as to reveal a section

3. (in drawing, esp mechanical drawing) to shade so as to indicate sections

4. surgery to cut or divide (an organ, structure, or part)

5. social welfare to have (a mentally disturbed person) confined in a mental hospital under an appropriate section of the mental health legislation

Synonym Usage

See part.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• half-section
  noun
• multisection
  adjective
• unsectioned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sections
  plural

Participles

• sectioning
  present
• sectioned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• section
  simple
• sections
  simple
• have sectioned
  perfect
• has sectioned
  perfect
• am sectioning
  progressive
• are sectioning
  progressive
• is sectioning
  progressive
• have been sectioning
  perfect progressive
• has been sectioning
  perfect progressive

Past

• sectioned
  simple
• had sectioned
  perfect
• was sectioning
  progressive
• were sectioning
  progressive
• had been sectioning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will section
  simple
• will have sectioned
  perfect
• will be sectioning
  progressive
• will have been sectioning
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of section

First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin sectiōn- (stem of sectiō ) “a cutting,” equivalent to sect(us) (past participle of secāre “to cut”; see saw ¹) + -iōn- -ion

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Explanation

A section is a part or piece of something that fits together with the other pieces to make a whole. Like the arts section of a newspaper, or the rhythm section of the band that gets reviewed in it. The root of section is the Latin word sect, which means "cut." Think dissect ("cut into pieces"), or bisect ("cut in two"). Insects are called insects because they're made up of sections — the head, the abdomen, and the thorax. It almost looks like they've been carved into three separate parts.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

section sections sectioned sectioning

Another remarkable discovery from a different section of the cave involved a Neanderthal who lived thousands of years later.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026

The $8.8-billion leg from L.A. to Anaheim is the final section that needs environmental clearance in the project’s first phase.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Puente said he did not know how fast the Renfe train was travelling at the time of the collision, adding that speeds on that section of track could reach 200 kilometres per hour.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

The authority said repairs to that section of North Brink had been "scheduled in line with our normal maintenance processes and response times".

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a mom featured in the business section of the Chicago Tribune.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

We switchbacked up steep sandy pitches, scrambled over sections of class 3 granite, and reached the peak in the early afternoon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

To understand how the protective layer develops, the scientists examined the electrode surfaces and internal cross sections while carefully limiting their exposure to air.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026

As C-130 transport planes continue to arrive, bulldozers are clearing new sections of land inside the Taura complex.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

Major sections fell into the sea during storms in late 2002, while two separate fires the following year destroyed most of what remained.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

Just below Wilmington, the Chesapeake Bay drove up like a wedge between two sections of land.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

Valdo was sectioned four times between May 2020 and January 2022.

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

The house was purchased for $1 from the developer, sectioned and transported on flatbed trucks to Altadena.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

Valdo Calocane was under the care of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust for two years, during which time he was sectioned four times and warned he would end up killing someone.

From BBC ● May 5, 2026

If you want frozen garlic — already sectioned and ready-to-use — Trader Joe’s carries the Dorot brand of frozen crushed garlic cubes.

From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026

Their own shapes sectioned in the thin and watery glass of the window there.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

Skelton said the decision to release Calocane to the crisis team and return him to his accommodation was not a "gamble" or influenced by Calocane trying to "dissuade" him from sectioning him.

From BBC ● May 7, 2026

Compared to their previous microscope design with a fixed light sheet, the new system quadrupled the field of view and doubled the optical sectioning ability without compromising volumetric imaging speed.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 20, 2024

“It is also equipped with manipulating arms which could be used to extricate the sub, such as by sectioning cables or things that would be blocking it at the bottom.”

From Washington Times ● Jun. 22, 2023

Johnson began by teaching the kids some basic techniques, like parting and sectioning hair, and by introducing them to the tools of the trade.

From Seattle Times ● May 10, 2023

But this neatness, the neatness of Dante, was in the orderly sectioning and segregating of all levels of evil and decay.

From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

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Related Words

• area
• branch
• category
• chunk
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• passage
• piece
• region
• sector
• segment
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