Adjacent Words

Sector definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SECT'OR, n. [L. seco, to cut.]
1. In geometry, a part of a circle comprehended between two radii and the arch; or a mixed triangle, formed by two radii and the arch of a circle.
2. A mathematical instrument so marked with lines of sines, tangents, secants, chords, etc. as to fit all radii and scales, and useful in finding the proportion between quantities of the same kind. The sector is founded on the fourth proposition of the sixth book of Euclid, where it is proved that similar triangles have their homologous sides proportional.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a plane figure bounded by two radii and the included arc of a circle
2: a social group that forms part of the society or the economy; "the public sector"
3: a particular aspect of life or activity; "he was helpless in an important sector of his life" [syn: sector, sphere]
4: the minimum track length that can be assigned to store information; unless otherwise specified a sector of data consists of 512 bytes
5: a portion of a military position
6: measuring instrument consisting of two graduated arms hinged at one end

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Late Latin, from Latin, cutter, from secare to cut — more at saw Date: 1570 1. a. a geometric figure bounded by two radii and the included arc of a circle b. (1) a subdivision of a defensive military position (2) a portion of a military front or area of operation c. an area or portion resembling a sector <bilingual sector of town — David Kleinberg> d. a sociological, economic, or political subdivision of society <cooperation between the public and private sectors — Peter Chapman> 2. a mathematical instrument consisting of two rulers connected at one end by a joint and marked with several scales 3. a subdivision of a track on a computer disk • sectoral adjective II. transitive verb (sectored; sectoring) Date: 1884 to divide into or furnish with sectors

U.S. Military Dictionary

(*) 1. An area designated by boundaries within which a unit operates, and for which it is responsible. 2. One of the subdivisions of a coastal frontier. See also area of influence; zone of action.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a distinct part or branch of an enterprise, or of society, the economy, etc. 2 Mil. a subdivision of an area for military operations, controlled by one commander or headquarters. 3 the plane figure enclosed by two radii of a circle, ellipse, etc., and the arc between them. 4 a mathematical instrument consisting of two arms hinged at one end and marked with sines, tangents, etc., for making diagrams etc. Derivatives: sectoral adj. Etymology: LL, techn. use of L sector cutter (as SECTION)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sector Sec"tor, n. [L., properly, a cutter, fr. secare, sectum, to cut: cf. F. secteur. See Section.] 1. (Geom.) A part of a circle comprehended between two radii and the included arc. 2. A mathematical instrument, consisting of two rulers connected at one end by a joint, each arm marked with several scales, as of equal parts, chords, sines, tangents, etc., one scale of each kind on each arm, and all on lines radiating from the common center of motion. The sector is used for plotting, etc., to any scale. 3. An astronomical instrument, the limb of which embraces a small portion only of a circle, used for measuring differences of declination too great for the compass of a micrometer. When it is used for measuring zenith distances of stars, it is called a zenith sector. Dip sector, an instrument used for measuring the dip of the horizon. Sector of a sphere, or Spherical sector, the solid generated by the revolution of the sector of a circle about one of its radii, or, more rarely, about any straight line drawn in the plane of the sector through its vertex.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(sectors) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A particular sector of a country's economy is the part connected with that specified type of industry. ...the nation's manufacturing sector. N-COUNT: supp N see also public sector, private sector 2. A sector of a large group is a smaller group which is part of it. Workers who went to the Gulf came from the poorest sectors of Pakistani society. N-COUNT: usu with supp 3. A sector is an area of a city or country which is controlled by a military force. Officers were going to retake sectors of the city. N-COUNT: usu with supp 4. A sector is a part of a circle which is formed when you draw two straight lines from the centre of the circle to the edge. (TECHNICAL) N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

adjunct, component, contingent, crescent, cross section, detachment, detail, district, division, dole, fraction, half circle, hemicycle, installment, item, parcel, part, particular, percentage, portion, precinct, quadrant, quarter, quota, random sample, remainder, sample, sampling, section, segment, semicircle, sextant, share, subdivision, subgroup, subspecies