territory

[ter-i-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

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.

Territory

¹

/ ˈtɛrɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. See Northern Territory

territory

²

/ 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

territory

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.

Other Word Forms

• subterritory noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of territory¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of territory¹

C15: from Latin territōrium land surrounding a town, from terra land

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

A native of Pennsylvania, he’ll also have to establish roots in new territory after having spent his entire life on the East Coast.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Maro noted that groups of male chimpanzees often gather high in the canopy of F. musuco trees to eat fruit before heading out on patrols along the borders of their territory.

Read more on Science Daily

The airline sector has fought hard to get back into positive territory for the year but faces a battle to hold on to those gains.

Read more on Barron's

I didn’t want to go, given L.A.’s freewheeling art territory compared with imperial Manhattan.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

After finishing October in record territory, major U.S. equity indexes kicked off November in the red with the worst five-day stretch to start the month since 2008, Dow Jones Market Data showed.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

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