Showing results for "zoning"

• present participle of zone.

zoning

American  

[zoh-ning] / ˈzoʊ nɪŋ /

adjective

1. (especially in city planning) of or relating to the division of an area into zones, as to restrict the number and types of buildings and their uses.

   zoning laws.

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zoning Cultural  

1. The establishment by local governments of districts that are restricted to various types of manufacturing, commercial, or residential use.

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Etymology

Origin of zoning

First recorded in 1810–20; zone + -ing ²

Explanation

Zoning is the process of splitting areas of land up into sections and clarifying what each of those sections can be used for. Your city's zoning might not allow you to build an enormous lighthouse in your front yard. Laws in a town or city that restrict what you can use land for are collectively known as zoning. Your neighborhood's zoning might allow multifamily homes and small businesses, while your cousin's area of town may have zoning that restricts it to single-family houses. In cities, zoning laws dictate where schools, medical clinics, homeless shelters, restaurants, parking lots, and liquor stores can be built. It may seem boring, but zoning affects daily life for most people.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

zoning

Government then debates the incentives, zoning and subsidies necessary to land the deal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

And conversely, industrial businesses moved into working-class neighborhoods because the land was cheaper and the zoning sometimes iffy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

Mitchell was also named the president of the group, which was promising to “focus on policy areas like taxation, economic development incentives, deregulation and zoning at the state and local level.”

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

Other provisions would help communities convert underused buildings into housing, modernize zoning rules and provide grants and loans for rebuilding aging homes.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

I just keep shooting hoops, zoning out, pretending that I will never have to go into my house again—that I will never have to remember what happened before I began shooting hoops.

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick