county

1 of 2

noun (1)

coun·​ty ˈkau̇n-tē 

plural counties

1

: the domain of a count

2

a

: one of the territorial divisions of England and Wales and formerly also of Scotland and Northern Ireland constituting the chief units for administrative, judicial, and political purposes

b(1)

: the people of a county

(2)

British : the gentry of a county

3

: the largest territorial division for local government within a state of the U.S.

4

: the largest local administrative unit in various countries

county adjective

county

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural counties

archaic

: count entry 3

Examples of county in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In spring 2019, then-Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks persuaded the county to donate the land; the approval was granted that summer. —Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Mar. 2025

But starting about nine months after the 2016 election, those trends began to diverge, with Republican counties showing persistently higher birth rates and Democratic counties showing comparatively lower ones. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 22 Mar. 2025

The county closed the site, formerly known as Latta Plantation, to the public in 2021 after uproar over organizers promoting a racist Juneteenth event. —Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 21 Mar. 2025

The drops came even though overall car and light truck sales across the county were up 1.3% compared to the first two months of last year, according to data compiled by Experian Automotive. —Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English counte, from Anglo-French cunté, counté, from Medieval Latin comitatus, from Late Latin, office of a count, from comit-, comes count — more at count

Noun (2)

modification of Middle French comte

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1539, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing county

• administrative county
• county agent
• county borough
• county court
• county fair
• county palatine
• county seat
• county town
• inter-county
• sub-county

Rhymes for county

• bounty

Kids Definition

county

noun

coun·​ty

ˈkau̇nt-ē

plural counties

1

: the area owned by a count

2

: a division of a state or of a country for local government

Etymology

Noun

Middle English counte "division of the country for the purposes of government," from early French counté "region under control of a count," derived from Latin comes count — related to count entry 3