territory

American  

[ter-i-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈtɛr ɪˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

noun

plural

territories

1. any tract of land; region or district.

2. the land and waters belonging to or under the jurisdiction of a state, sovereign, etc.

   Synonyms:

   sovereignty, dominion, domain

3. any separate tract of land belonging to a state.

4. (often initial capital letter)

   1. a region or district of the U.S. not admitted to the Union as a state but having its own legislature, with a governor and other officers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

   2. some similar district elsewhere, as in Canada and Australia.

5. a field or sphere of action, thought, etc.; domain or province of something.

6. the region or district assigned to a representative, agent, or the like, as for making sales.

7. the area that an animal defends against intruders, especially of the same species.

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Territory ¹ British  

/ ˈtɛrɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. See Northern Territory

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territory ² British  

/ ˈtɛrɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. any tract of land; district

2. the geographical domain under the jurisdiction of a political unit, esp of a sovereign state

3. the district for which an agent, etc, is responsible

   a salesman's territory

4. an area inhabited and defended by an individual animal or a breeding group of animals

5. an area of knowledge

   science isn't my territory

6. (in football, hockey, etc) the area defended by a team

7. (often capital) a region of a country, esp of a federal state, that enjoys less autonomy and a lower status than most constituent parts of the state

8. (often capital) a protectorate or other dependency of a country

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territory Scientific  

/ tĕr′ĭ-tôr′ē /

1. A geographic area occupied by a single animal, mating pair, or group. Animals usually defend their territory vigorously against intruders, especially of the same species, but the defense often takes the form of prominent, threatening displays rather than out-and-out fighting. Different animals mark off territory in different ways, as by leaving traces of their scent along the boundaries or, in the case of birds, modifying their calls to keep out intruders.

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territory Idioms  

1. see come with the territory; cover the field (territory).

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Other Word Forms

• subterritory noun

Etymology

Origin of territory

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin territōrium “land around a town, district,” from terr(a) “land” + -i- -i- + -tōrium -tory ²

Example Sentences

Molina’s latest earnings solidly took shares into negative territory for the year.

From Barron's

Why are you going into this dangerous territory just to make your business a little bit bigger when that represents such a big potential problem in the future?

From The Wall Street Journal

US-mediated talks in Geneva earlier this week failed to make progress on the key issue of territory in any deal to end the conflict.

From Barron's

Tennyson’s debt to science is familiar territory for academics, yet Mr. Holmes understands that the poet’s reaction was not analytical but emotional and creative.

From The Wall Street Journal

Eurozone activity was boosted by a strong uptick in manufacturing, which returned to positive territory for the first time since August and marked its highest reading in three-and-a-half years.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• area
• colony
• country
• district
• enclave
• field
• land
• nation
• neighborhood
• province
• sector
• state
• street
• terrain
• zone