any tract of land; region or district.
the land and waters belonging to or under the jurisdiction of a state, sovereign, etc.
any separate tract of land belonging to a state.
(often initial capital letter)
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.
some similar district elsewhere, as in Canada and Australia.
a field or sphere of action, thought, etc.; domain or province of something.
the region or district assigned to a representative, agent, or the like, as for making sales.
the area that an animal defends against intruders, especially of the same species.
any tract of land; district
the geographical domain under the jurisdiction of a political unit, esp of a sovereign state
the district for which an agent, etc, is responsible
a salesman's territory
an area inhabited and defended by an individual animal or a breeding group of animals
an area of knowledge
science isn't my territory
(in football, hockey, etc) the area defended by a team
(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
(often capital) a protectorate or other dependency of a country
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
A certain area that's owned or under the control of someone is called a territory. Countries defend their territories during wars and dogs mark their territory in the yard by peeing on it. Although the territory of a country includes its entire area, the noun can also specifically refer to an area governed by a country, but one that isn't a state or province. Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, for example. The noun territory can also be used to describe any assigned region or area, such as a salesman whose territory is the Midwest — that means that he's in charge of business in there.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gold prices slumped more than 2% to $4173 an ounce on Wednesday, reaching year lows and entering bear-market territory.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
The beginnings of British settlement in North America are hardly untrodden territory.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
“But this really just comes with the territory after these big moves.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026
Apart from denying Pakistan's allegation that it had been providing safe harbour to militants, Afghanistan's government has repeatedly said its territory is not being used to threaten the security of other countries.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
The wind carried Nina farther and farther west, over the front line and into enemy territory.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
