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• territorial
  territorial

  adjective

  of or relating to territory or land.
• Territorial
  Territorial

  noun

  a member of a territorial army, esp the British Army's Territorial and Volunteer Reserve

territorial

American  

[ter-i-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-] / ˌtɛr ɪˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr- /

adjective

1. 

   of or relating to territory or land.

2. of, pertaining to, associated with, or restricted to a particular territory or district; local.

3. pertaining or belonging to the territory of a state or ruler.

4. (of an animal) characterized by territoriality; defending an area against intruders, especially of the same species.

5. Often Territorial of or relating to a territory of the United States.

6. Military. Territorial, organized on a local basis for home defense.

   the British Territorial Army.

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noun

• territorials
  plural

1. Territorial, a member of the British Territorial Army.

2. a soldier in a territorial army.

territorial ¹ British  

/ ˌtɛrɪˈtɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a territory or territories

2. restricted to or owned by a particular territory

   the Indian territorial waters

3. local or regional

4. pertaining to a territorial army, providing a reserve of trained men for use in emergency

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Territorial ² British  

/ ˌtɛrɪˈtɔːrɪəl /

noun

1. a member of a territorial army, esp the British Army's Territorial and Volunteer Reserve

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonterritorial
  adjective
• preterritorial
  adjective
• quasi-territorial
  adjective
• subterritorial
  adjective
• nonterritorially
  adverb
• quasi-territorially
  adverb
• territorially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• territorials
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of territorial

First recorded in 1615–25; from Late Latin territōriāli; see territory, -al ¹

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Explanation

If your dog barks whenever someone walks through your yard, it might be because she's territorial, or inclined to protect her territory from trespassers. A person — or an animal — who guards or defends the area she considers to belong to her is territorial. You can also use the adjective to describe anything relating to the territory itself. For example, territorial boundaries are invisible lines that mark the division between one country, or territory, and another. The Latin root, territorium, "land around a town," comes from terra, "earth or land."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

territorial Territorial territorials

Meeting with his security chiefs on Tuesday, Bulgaria's prime minister said: "Another attack on merchant ships in the immediate vicinity of Bulgarian territorial waters is absolutely unacceptable".

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

The proposal will cover territorial disputes, postconflict economic prosperity, and a new security architecture for Russia and Europe, according to a person familiar with the matter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Contemporary disputes involve the right of innocent passage through other countries’ territorial waters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

“It’s territorial in a literal physical sense — the ground, your backyard, your community, the park that you love.”

From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026

In 1976 Edward N. Luttwak, now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in Washington, D.C., published a short, provocative book about imperial Rome that distinguished between territorial and hegemonic empires.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Territorial acquisition was no longer necessary to achieve the objectives that earlier generations had pursued through expansion.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026

Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres has been tasked with co-ordinating the response, relieving the Ceuta local government of that responsibility.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

To speed up the response, Spain's cabinet on Tuesday approved the creation of a "single command" for Ceuta, to be led by Territorial Policy Minister Angel Víctor Torres.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

"This is the red line that must not be crossed," said Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji during a press conference late Sunday.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2025

Territorial empires are tightly controlled but costly to maintain; hegemonic empires are inexpensive to maintain, because the original local rulers incur the costs of administration, but the loose tie between master and vassal encourages rebellion.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Twenty-eight of the Skye territorials lived within sight of Portree harbour.

From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2014

That would give Italy 600,000 men under arms, not counting territorials.

From Time Magazine Archive

At the tables handsome flying Johnnies, naval Jacks in full dress, guardsmen, territorials, and just plain civics sat making conversational love.

From Time Magazine Archive

Britain now has 827,000 men & women in uniform, counting the regular army, navy and air force, plus draftees and territorials.

From Time Magazine Archive

The territorials who are in charge of them say that they were much more lively at first.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

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