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

The weather service has extended its red flag fire weather warning through Friday at 10 a.m. for much of the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura. —Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2025

The National Weather Service Los Angeles (NWS) said that a red flag warning remains in effect for certain portions of the county amid strong Santa Ana winds. —Raul A. Reyes, Newsweek, 23 Jan. 2025

The danger felt all the more real because of the deadly Eaton and Palisades fires that have been ravaging other parts of the county. —Corina Knoll, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025

Tarrant County is one of three counties throughout the U.S. participating in a pilot program with the American Heart Association to improve cardiac arrest survival rates. —Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Jan. 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

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