district

1 of 2

noun

dis·​trict ˈdi-(ˌ)strikt 

often attributive

1

a

: a territorial division (as for administrative or electoral purposes)

b

: the basic administrative unit for local government in Northern Ireland

2

: an area, region, or section with a distinguishing character

a shopping district

district

2 of 2

verb

districted; districting; districts

transitive verb

: to divide or organize into districts

Synonyms

Noun

• nabe
• neighborhood
• quarter
• section

Examples of district in a Sentence

Noun

Six police officers are in charge of the district.

She represents the eighth congressional district.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Within days, the alliance settled on a single candidate for almost all of the country’s nearly six hundred legislative districts and hammered out a common platform, calling for a minimum-wage hike, a price freeze on energy bills, and the reinstatement of wealth taxes that Macron had cancelled. —Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2024

The Republican Party also picked up three seats in the state Legislature, flipping seats in Orange County, Riverside and the Inland Empire, suggesting Democrats in once-safe districts could see bigger fights in the future. —Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2024

Verb

Nevada Any school buses that districts purchase after July 2019 must be equiped with lap-shoulder belts. —Keri Heath, Austin American-Statesman, 14 Nov. 2024

Larger cities, like Surprise and Mesa, are districted, allowing only voters in a respective area to select their representative. —Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 25 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French, from Medieval Latin districtus jurisdiction, district, from distringere to distrain — more at distrain

First Known Use

Noun

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1792, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing district

• business district
• congressional district
• district attorney
• district court
• federal district
• federal district court
• inter-district
• multimember district
• school district
• senatorial district
• single-member district
• special district
• sub-district
• urban district

Kids Definition

district

1 of 2 noun

dis·​trict ˈdis-(ˌ)trikt 

1

: an area or section (as of a city or nation) set apart for some purpose

a school district

a judicial district

2

: an area or region having some special feature

a coal-mining district

district

2 of 2 verb

: to divide or organize into districts

Legal Definition

district

noun

dis·​trict

: a territorial division (as of a nation, state, county, or city) for administrative, judicial, electoral, or other purposes: as

a

: an administrative unit especially of a town or city established for the performance of a special governmental function

the water district

park district

b

: congressional district

c

: one of the divisions of the United States or of the individual states served by a particular federal or state court