segment

American  

[seg-muhnt, seg-ment, seg-ment] / ˈsɛg mənt, ˈsɛg mɛnt, sɛgˈmɛnt /

noun

• segments
  plural

1. one of the parts into which something naturally separates or is divided; a division, portion, or section.

   a segment of an orange.

2. Geometry.

   1. a part cut off from a figure, especially a circular or spherical one, by a line or plane, as a part of a circular area contained by an arc and its chord or by two parallel lines or planes.

   2. Also called line segment.  a finite section of a line.

3. Zoology.

   1. any of the rings that compose the body of an annelid or arthropod.

   2. any of the discrete parts of the body of an animal, especially of an arthropod.

4. an object, as a machine part, having the form of a segment or sector of a circle.

5. Computers.

   1. a portion of a program, often one that can be loaded and executed independently of other portions.

   2. a unit of data in a database.

6. an arclike support on which the typebars of a typewriter rest when not in use.

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verb (used with or without object)

• segments,
  present (3rd person singular)
• segmented,
  past participle,  past
• segmenting
  present participle

1. to separate or divide into segments.

segment British  

/ ˈsɛɡməntərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. maths

   1. a part of a line or curve between two points

   2. a part of a plane or solid figure cut off by an intersecting line, plane, or planes, esp one between a chord and an arc of a circle

2. one of several parts or sections into which an object is divided; portion

3. zoology any of the parts into which the body or appendages of an annelid or arthropod are divided

4. linguistics a speech sound considered in isolation

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verb

1. to cut or divide (a whole object) into segments

segment Scientific  

/ sĕg′mənt /

1. The portion of a line between any two of its points.

2. The region bounded by an arc of a circle and the chord that connects the endpoints of the arc.

3. The portion of a sphere included between a pair of parallel planes that intersect it or are tangent to it.

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Synonym Usage

See part.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intersegment
  noun
• multisegment
  adjective
• multisegmented
  adjective
• nonsegmentary
  adjective
• nonsegmented
  adjective
• segmentary
  adjective
• segmentate
  adjective
• unsegmentary
  adjective
• unsegmented
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• segments
  plural

Participles

• segmenting
  present
• segmented
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• segment
  simple
• segments
  simple
• have segmented
  perfect
• has segmented
  perfect
• am segmenting
  progressive
• are segmenting
  progressive
• is segmenting
  progressive
• have been segmenting
  perfect progressive
• has been segmenting
  perfect progressive

Past

• segmented
  simple
• had segmented
  perfect
• was segmenting
  progressive
• were segmenting
  progressive
• had been segmenting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will segment
  simple
• will have segmented
  perfect
• will be segmenting
  progressive
• will have been segmenting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of segment

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin segmentum, equivalent to sec(āre) “to cut” + -mentum -ment

Explanation

A segment is one of several pieces that together create a whole. You could offer a segment of your orange to your girlfriend as a Valentine's Day gift. She’ll probably enjoy the orange, but she may break up with you. Lots of things can have segments. You can talk about a segment of a talk show, a segment of a sphere, or the segment of students in your high school who want to join the Drama Club — the ones singing and dancing in the cafeteria every day. You can also use segment as a verb: when you chop down that oak tree in your front yard, you have to segment the trunk into smaller pieces for firewood.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

segment segments segmented segmenting

"That's because the new tariffs, while significant, will still impact a small segment of total trade," RBC said last month, adding that around 80 percent of Canadian goods would still enter the United States tariff-free.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

In the three episodes reviewed for this story, the Duffys are provided with different Toyota vehicles for each segment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

The acquisition targets a fast-growing real-estate segment as Goldman Sachs expands its asset- and wealth-management business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The deal sees Goldman targeting a fast-growing segment of the real-estate market that has drawn asset managers seeking a blend of property ownership and corporate credit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

For the segment, I would be interviewed by Ellen and then do a fencing demonstration with one of her producers.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Losses at its AI labs and applications as well as all other segments will peak this quarter, the analyst says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

The data agency’s survey for June showed sales were up broadly, rising in seven of the nine industry segments it tracks, led by general merchandise stores.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

However, non-electronics segments such as petrochemicals are expected to be weighed by supply disruptions from the conflict in the Middle East, Cheok added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

“The risk longer-term for peers is that Apollo transforms easyJet into a more competitive airline in terms of product, cost base and in particular segments like corporate traffic or package holidays,” they add.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Mullen examined the tapes and excerpted all references to the candidates, until he had 37 separate segments, each roughly two and a half seconds long.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

It is the latest example of Apple deploying a decades-old chip industry strategy to squeeze profits from lesser-performing processors by selling them like eggs, gas, diamonds or hotel rooms, segmented by good, better and best.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

One fossil revealed a segmented cartilaginous sternum, along with sternal ribs, intermediate ribs, and connections linking the ribcage to the shoulder girdle.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 23, 2026

Public transit there feels more segmented, so traveling to Oakland can take a long time, and getting to outdoor or hiking destinations isn’t really feasible without a car.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 22, 2026

The 2025 SDR recommended a new "segmented approach" to MoD defence procurement to deliver contracts within two years.

From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026

The birds themselves swooped and cried, weaving in and out of immense, curved ridges that could only be spines, segmented and spurred, and, unmistakably: giant hands, giant feet.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

The rise of Geese reflects Gen Z’s broad interest in music from decades-past, which they have unfettered access to thanks to streaming, and a distaste for segmenting sounds into genres, industry observers say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025

The researchers investigated the drug’s effect on numerous subgroups within their sample population, segmenting it by age, heart or lung condition, gender, smoking status or time since symptom onset.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2022

Once you get really good at segmenting people or giving them the right recommendations, you have to have a different way to follow up with every single person.

From The Verge ● Feb. 1, 2022

It aims to preserve user privacy by segmenting its audience into larger groups.

From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2022

The study of the cleavage pattern of the segmenting egg furnishes the most convincing evidence that a different explanation from the one stated in the biogenetic law is the more probable explanation.

From A Critique of the Theory of Evolution by Thomas Hunt Morgan

Related Words

• division
• piece
• portion
• section
• sector
• slice