precinct

[ pree-singkt ]

noun

1. a district, as of a city, marked out for governmental or administrative purposes, or for police protection.

   Synonyms: ward

2. Also called precinct house. the police station in such a district.
3. Also called election district. one of a fixed number of districts, each containing one polling place, into which a city, town, etc., is divided for voting purposes.
4. a space or place of definite or understood limits.

   Synonyms: territory

5. Often precincts. an enclosing boundary or limit.
6. precincts, the parts or regions immediately surrounding a place; environs:

   the precincts of a town.

7. Chiefly British. the ground immediately surrounding a church, temple, or the like.
8. a walled or otherwise bounded or limited space within which a building or place is situated.

   Synonyms: compound

precinct

/ ˈpriːsɪŋkt /

noun

1. 1. an enclosed area or building marked by a fixed boundary such as a wall
   2. such a boundary
2. an area in a town, often closed to traffic, that is designed or reserved for a particular purpose

   a shopping precinct

   pedestrian precinct

3. 1. a district of a city for administrative or police purposes
   2. the police responsible for such a district
4. a polling or electoral district

Word History and Origins

Origin of precinct¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin praecinctum, noun use of neuter of Latin praecinctus, past participle of praecingere to gird about, surround, equivalent to prae- pre- + cing- (stem of cingere to surround; cinch ¹ ) + -tus past participle suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of precinct¹

C15: from Medieval Latin praecinctum (something) surrounded, from Latin praecingere to gird around, from prae before, around + cingere to gird

Example Sentences

“Even at the precinct, she comes around the corner, and some cops are like, ‘Oh, come on.

From Los Angeles Times

The only concrete accusation so far is against Russian actors for calling in fake bomb scares to five Georgia precincts.

From Salon

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said at a news conference that “about five to seven” precincts across the state received bomb threats early Tuesday from a “foreign state actor.”

From Los Angeles Times

"We opened up with about 100 or so. It took a good hour and a half or so to slow down," Wes Daniel, the precinct manager at Chicopee Baptist Church near Gainesville, told WDUN.

From Salon

Raffensperger told reporters that the threat, which affected between five and seven precincts across multiple counties, was resolved.

From Salon

Related Words

• district
• neighborhood
• ward