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unitary authority

British

noun

(in the United Kingdom) a district administered by a single tier of local government, esp those districts of England that became administratively independent of the county councils in 1996–98

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

From 2028, every district council in Worcestershire will be dissolved, and replaced by either one unitary authority for the county, or two, covering the north and south.

From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026

She spent 17 years as a Poole councillor, overseeing the council's move to a unitary authority.

From BBC • Aug. 21, 2025

It would require a series of deals nationwide emulating North Yorkshire, which now has a unitary authority after eight councils were merged together last year.

From BBC • Dec. 15, 2024

Central Bedfordshire Council was set up as a unitary authority in 2009 - replacing the county and district council set-up in the county and providing all the council services in its area.

From BBC • Jul. 19, 2024

A long-serving Tory councillor, Mr Nunn was elected to lead the county's newly formed unitary authority in 2021.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2024

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023