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• territory
  territory

  noun

  any tract of land; region or district.
• Territory
  Territory

  noun

  See Northern Territory

territory

American  

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

noun

• territories
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• subterritory
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• territories
  plural

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

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

territory Territory territories

Alarming weaker Gulf countries like Kuwait, Iran’s leaders are increasingly talking about offensive operations on enemy territory.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Authorities said they had been hampered by weather conditions as well as the park's terrain - which consists of bog-like territory, moorland and forests.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

To be sure, with stocks near record territory on Friday, nervous investors had plenty of other things to worry about besides obscure technicals.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman tracked Royals hitter Isaac Collins’ fly ball through foul territory to just outside the visiting dugout at Dodger Stadium.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Mine was moving into irritated territory, his chair squeaking.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Koalas have been officially listed as endangered in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory since 2022.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

We credit Jefferson with purchasing the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803 for $15 million.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

The footage was released by Northern Territory police ahead of the 25th anniversary of his disappearance, with the force saying it "remains committed to bringing this investigation to its fullest conclusion".

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

A spokesperson from Northern Territory said their "thoughts remained with the Falconio family and Joanne Lees whose loss and uncertainty continue to be felt 25 years on".

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

Back at the fortress, the Humans released me from the cage and opened the items they had stolen from the Territory of the Bleeding Man.

From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth

As people move deeper and deeper into ecosystems and territories where few, if any, had lived before, they risk interacting with pathogens that were previously confined.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

"States and territories are advised to review" the Trump administration's recommendations on "immunization requirements for contexts such as school enrollment and attendance," the order states.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Then there are the overseas territories, which require France to post immigration officers across 12 time zones, including France’s longest border, the jungled 450 miles between French Guyana and Brazil.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Birthright citizenship for people born in US territories such as Puerto Rico is codified by federal statute.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The army now protested that it had never actually surrendered but had simply agreed to a cease-fire, and at the time of the armistice was still in possession of vast conquered territories.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

Related Words

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