province

noun

prov·​ince ˈprä-vən(t)s 

1

a

: a country or region brought under the control of the ancient Roman government

b

: an administrative district or division of a country

c

provinces plural : all of a country except the metropolises

2

a

: a division of a country forming the jurisdiction of an archbishop or metropolitan

b

: a territorial unit of a religious order

3

a

: a biogeographic division of less rank than a region

b

: an area that exhibits essential continuity of geologic history

also : one characterized by particular structural or petrological features

4

a

: proper or appropriate function or scope : sphere

that question is outside my province

b

: a department of knowledge or activity

Synonyms

• area
• arena
• bailiwick
• barony
• business
• circle
• demesne
• department
• discipline
• domain
• element
• fief
• fiefdom
• field
• firmament
• front
• game
• kingdom
• line
• precinct
• realm
• specialty
• sphere
• terrain
• walk

Choose the Right Synonym for province

function, office, duty, province mean the acts or operations expected of a person or thing.

function implies a definite end or purpose or a particular kind of work.

the function of language is two-fold: to communicate emotion and to give information

—Aldous Huxley

office is typically applied to the function or service associated with a trade or profession or a special relationship to others.

they exercise the offices of the judge, the priest, the counsellor

—W. E. Gladstone

duty applies to a task or responsibility imposed by one's occupation, rank, status, or calling.

it is the judicial duty of the court, to examine the whole case

—R. B. Taney

province applies to a function, office, or duty that naturally or logically falls to one.

I felt it was not my province to inquire

—Anne Brontë

Examples of province in a Sentence

They left the city for life in the provinces.

a legal question outside the doctor's province

Recent Examples on the Web

The rapid advance into the city comes less than three weeks after the rebels claimed the takeover of Goma, the largest city and capital of the neighboring North Kivu province on January 27. —Nimi Princewill, CNN, 15 Feb. 2025

Chinese superstar Yao Chen is steering her production banner Bad Rabbit Pictures into premium short-form television with an ambitious limited series centered on Mazu, the legendary sea goddess who was born mortal in China’s Fujian province. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 Feb. 2025

In her column this week, Jenn Harris crawls the San Gabriel Valley for her favorite versions of rou jia mo, a dish from the Shaanxi province in China often called a Chinese hamburger. —Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2025

The federal government has vowed retaliatory tariffs and provinces have ordered U.S. booze removed from liquor store shelves, meaning millions of Canadians would have to drown their sorrows with rye instead of bourbon. —Stephen Maher, TIME, 15 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin provincia

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

province

noun

prov·​ince ˈpräv-ən(t)s 

1

a

: a country or region brought under the control of the ancient Roman government

b

: a usually large division of a country having its own government

Canadian provinces

c

plural : all of a country except the chief cities

2

: the jurisdiction of an archbishop or metropolitan

3

: proper or appropriate business or area of skill, knowledge, or interest

a legal question outside the physician's province