district

[dis-trikt]

noun

1. a division of territory, as of a country, state, or county, marked off for administrative, electoral, or other purposes.

2. a region or locality.

   the theater district; the Lake District.

3. British.,  a subdivision of a county or a town.

4. the District, the District of Columbia; Washington, D.C.

verb (used with object)

1. to divide into districts.

district

/ ˈdɪstrɪkt /

noun

1. 1. an area of land marked off for administrative or other purposes

   2. ( as modifier )

      district nurse

2. a locality separated by geographical attributes; region

3. any subdivision of any territory, region, etc

4. (in England from 1974 and in Wales 1974–96) any of the subdivisions of the nonmetropolitan counties that elects a council responsible for local planning, housing, rates, etc See also metropolitan district

5. (in Scotland until 1975) a landward division of a county

6. (in Scotland 1975–96) any of the subdivisions of the regions that elected a council responsible for environmental health services, housing, etc

7. any of the 26 areas into which Northern Ireland has been divided since 1973. Elected district councils are responsible for environmental health services, etc

verb

1. (tr) to divide into districts

Other Word Forms

• interdistrict adjective
• outdistrict noun
• predistrict noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of district¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from French, from Medieval Latin distrīctus “exercise of justice, restraining of offenders,” derivative of Latin distringere “to stretch out; detain, occupy,” equivalent to di- suffix of separation + strig- (base of stringere “to bind, tie”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; distrain, di- ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of district¹

C17: from Medieval Latin districtus area of jurisdiction, from Latin distringere to stretch out; see _distrain

Example Sentences

“If there is a reasonable conservative Democrat,” this person said, “they could get elected, except in the deepest of red districts, and even that could change.”

From Salon

The then-28-year-old activist stunned the political establishment when she unseated the fourth-ranked Democrat in the House to represent a New York district that includes parts of the Bronx and Queens.

From Los Angeles Times

On Wednesday, Joshua Michael Richardson, 38, was charged with felony criminal threats and possession of six high-capacity gun magazines, brass knuckles and a sword, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

From Los Angeles Times

It also would bar school districts from providing information about pupils, their families, teachers and school employees to immigration authorities without a warrant.

From Los Angeles Times

In most districts, leaders “are hesitant to address this publicly for fear of attracting more scrutiny and making the issue even more difficult to manage,” Flint said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• commune 
• community 
• department 
• locality 
• neighborhood 
• parish 
• precinct 
• region 
• section 
• sector 
• territory