Adjacent Words

District definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DISTRICT, n. [L., to press hard, to bind. See Distrain.]
1. Properly, a limited extent of country; a circuit within which power, right or authority may be exercised, and to which it is restrained; a word applicable to any portion of land or country, or to any part of a city or town, which is defined by law or agreement. A governor, a prefect, or a judge may have his district. Some of the states are divided into districts for the choice of senators, representatives or electors. Cities and towns are divided into districts for various purposes, as for school, etc. The United States are divided into districts for the collection of the revenue.
2. A region; a territory within given lines; as the district of the earth which lies between the tropics, or that which is north of a polar circle.
3. A region; a country; a portion of territory without very definite limits; as the districts of Russia covered by forest.
DISTRICT, v.t. To divide into districts or limited portions of territory. Legislatures district states for the choice of senators. In New England, towns are districted for the purpose of establishing and managing schools.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a region marked off for administrative or other purposes [syn: district, territory, territorial dominion, dominion] v
1: regulate housing in; of certain areas of towns [syn: zone, district]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: French, from Medieval Latin districtus jurisdiction, district, from distringere to distrain — more at distrain Date: 1611 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> II. transitive verb Date: 1792 to divide or organize into districts

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a (often attrib.) a territory marked off for special administrative purposes. b Brit. a division of a county or region electing its own councillors. 2 an area which has common characteristics; a region (the wine-growing district). --v.tr. US divide into districts. Phrases and idioms: district attorney (in the US) the prosecuting officer of a district. district court (in the US) the Federal court of first instance. district heating a supply of heat or hot water from one source to a district or a group of buildings. district nurse Brit. a peripatetic nurse serving a rural or urban area. district visitor Brit. a person working for a member of the clergy in a section of a parish. Etymology: F f. med.L districtus (territory of) jurisdiction (as DISTRAIN)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

District Dis"trict, a. [L. districtus, p. p.] Rigorous; stringent; harsh. [Obs.] Punishing with the rod of district severity. --Foxe.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

District Dis"trict, n. [LL. districtus district, fr. L. districtus, p. p. of distringere: cf. F. district. See Distrain.] 1. (Feudal Law) The territory within which the lord has the power of coercing and punishing. 2. A division of territory; a defined portion of a state, town, or city, etc., made for administrative, electoral, or other purposes; as, a congressional district, judicial district, land district, school district, etc. To exercise exclusive legislation . . . over such district not exceeding ten miles square. --The Constitution of the United States. 3. Any portion of territory of undefined extent; a region; a country; a tract. These districts which between the tropics lie. --Blackstone. Congressional district. See under Congressional. District attorney, the prosecuting officer of a district or district court. District court, a subordinate municipal, state, or United States tribunal, having jurisdiction in certain cases within a judicial district. District judge, one who presides over a district court. District school, a public school for the children within a school district. [U.S.] Syn: Division; circuit; quarter; province; tract; region; country.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

District Dis"trict, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Districted; p. pr. & vb. n. Districting.] To divide into districts or limited portions of territory; as, legislatures district States for the choice of representatives.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(districts) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A district is a particular area of a town or country. I drove around the business district. ...Nashville's shopping district. N-COUNT: usu supp N 2. A district is an area of a town or country which has been given official boundaries for the purpose of administration. ...the home of the governor of the district. N-COUNT: with supp, oft N n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Region, tract, territory, circuit, province, quarter.

Moby Thesaurus

Kreis, abode, airspace, apportion, archbishopric, archdiocese, area, arrondissement, bailiwick, bearings, belt, bench mark, bishopric, borough, canton, city, commune, community, confines, congressional district, constablewick, continental shelf, corridor, country, county, cut up, departement, department, diocese, divide, divide up, division, divvy, divvy up, duchy, electoral district, electorate, emplacement, environs, government, ground, hamlet, heartland, hinterland, hole, hundred, land, latitude and longitude, lieu, locale, locality, location, locus, magistracy, metropolis, metropolitan area, milieu, neighborhood, oblast, offshore rights, okrug, parcel, parcel out, parish, part, partition, parts, pinpoint, place, placement, point, portion, position, precinct, precincts, premises, principality, province, purlieus, quarter, region, riding, salient, section, sector, segment, sheriffalty, sheriffwick, shire, shrievalty, site, situation, situs, soil, soke, space, split, split up, spot, stake, state, stead, subdivide, terrain, territory, three-mile limit, town, township, twelve-mile limit, vicinage, vicinity, village, wapentake, ward, whereabout, whereabouts, zone