District definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

View all »
Definitions (26)

American Heritage Dictionary (3)

noun A division of an area, as for administrative purposes.
noun A region or locality marked by a distinguishing feature: went to the lake district for their vacation.
transitive verb To mark off or divide into districts.

Century Dictionary (18)

A limited extent of country marked off for a special purpose, administrative, political, etc.; a circuit or territory within which may be exercised or to which are limited certain rights or powers; any portion of land or country, or any part of a city or town, which is defined by law or agreement. In British India and in various European countries a district is a subdivision of a province. In reference to political divisions in the United States, it generally imports that the inhabitants act together for some one specific purpose: as, a highway district; a school district; an election district (as a senate, assembly, or congressional district). In some States the term is applied to a class of towns. In South Carolina, during most of the period from 1768 to 1868, the chief subdivision of the State (excepting the coast region) was called a district, instead of a county as in the other States. In Virginia and West Virginia the chief subdivision of a county is called a magisterial district, with reference to the organization of local justice. In Tennessee it is called a civil district; in Kentucky, a justice's district; in Georgia, a militia district; in Maryland, an election district. In other States these divisions are called towns or townships. In colonial and provincial Massachusetts the district was a part set off from a town and made independent of it in respect to local administration, but not in respect to choosing a representative to the General Court. In the Methodist Episcopal Church the district is a territorial subdivision of a conference, comprising a number of churches and societies, under the charge of a presiding elder. A military district of a country is a division of a military territorial department. The federal territory containing the national capital is called the District of Columbia. Abbreviated dist. Even the decrees of general councils bind not but as they are accepted by the several churches in their respective districts and dioceses, of which I am to give an account in the following periods. Jer. Taylor, Diss. from Popery, I. ii. § 1.
A region in general; a territory within definite or indefinite limits: as, the district of the earth which lies between the tropics, or that which is north of a polar circle; the districts of Russia covered by forest.
District attorney an officer appointed to act as attorney for the people or government within a specified district.

15 more from this dictionary »

View all »
Examples (50)

At the end of the day, by looking only at whether a district is theoretically on one side of the partisan divide or the other, plans that score quite well on "representational fairness" could end up predictably giving most of the legislative seats to the party that loses the statewide vote. — Brennan Center for Justice
Sometimes picking a Most Valuable Player for a district is a hard decision.
"We're very happy the district was approved," said Medway Historical Commission Chairman Robert Pomponio. — The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS
Reed said the district is already looking at going into "survival mode," meaning textbooks will be repaired rather than replaced with new ones.
But in the district was a family with a very sinister reputation. — OlyBlog - 'We Are the Media'

More examples »

Add a related word »
Related

Used in the Same Context

county · province · town · region · island · territory · community · colony · valley · tribe · neighborhood · department

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (4)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

French, from Old French, from Medieval Latin districtus, from Latin, past participle of distringere, to hinder; see distrain.

Century Dictionary (3)

from French district = Spanish distrito = Portuguese districto = Italian distretto, distritto = Dutch distrikt = German district = Danish Swedish distrikt, from Middle Latin districtus, a district within which the lord may distrain, also jurisdiction, from Latin districtus, past participle of distringere, draw asunder, compel, distrain: see distrain.
from district, n.
from Latin districtus, past participle of distringere, draw asunder, stretch tight: see distrain, and district, n.

district

View all »
Definitions (26)

American Heritage Dictionary (3)

Century Dictionary (18)

GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

WordNet (2)

Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

Tags

Stats

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the Same Context

Word Family

Etymologies (4)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

Century Dictionary (3)

Pronunciations
Record your own »

Charts

Recently looked up

Recent Favorites

Recent Pronunciations

district

View all » Definitions (26)

View all » Examples (50)

Tags

Stats

stop updating On Twitter

Photos from

Add a related word » Related

synonyms:

synonyms:

Etymologies (4)

Pronunciations Record your own »

Charts

Recently looked up

Recent Favorites

Recent Pronunciations

View all »
Definitions (26)

View all »
Examples (50)

stop updating
On Twitter

Add a related word »
Related

Pronunciations
Record your own »