territory

[ ter-i-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee ]

noun

, plural ter·ri·to·ries.

1. any tract of land; region or district.
2. the land and waters belonging to or under the jurisdiction of a state, sovereign, etc.

   Synonyms: sovereignty, dominion, domain

3. any separate tract of land belonging to a state.
4. (often initial capital letter) Government.
   1. a region or district of the U.S. not admitted to the Union as a state but having its own legislature, with a governor and other officers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
   2. some similar district elsewhere, as in Canada and Australia.
5. a field or sphere of action, thought, etc.; domain or province of something.
6. the region or district assigned to a representative, agent, or the like, as for making sales.
7. the area that an animal defends against intruders, especially of the same species.

Territory

¹

/ ˈtɛrɪtərɪ; -trɪ /

noun

1. the Territory
   See Northern Territory

territory

²

/ ˈtɛrɪtərɪ; -trɪ /

noun

1. any tract of land; district
2. the geographical domain under the jurisdiction of a political unit, esp of a sovereign state
3. the district for which an agent, etc, is responsible

   a salesman's territory

4. an area inhabited and defended by an individual animal or a breeding group of animals
5. an area of knowledge

   science isn't my territory

6. (in football, hockey, etc) the area defended by a team
7. often capital a region of a country, esp of a federal state, that enjoys less autonomy and a lower status than most constituent parts of the state
8. often capital a protectorate or other dependency of a country

territory

/ tĕr′ĭ-tôr′ē /

1. A geographic area occupied by a single animal, mating pair, or group. Animals usually defend their territory vigorously against intruders, especially of the same species, but the defense often takes the form of prominent, threatening displays rather than out-and-out fighting. Different animals mark off territory in different ways, as by leaving traces of their scent along the boundaries or, in the case of birds, modifying their calls to keep out intruders.

Other Words From

• sub·terri·tory noun plural subterritories

Word History and Origins

Origin of territory¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin territōrium “land around a town, district,” from terr(a) “land” + -i- -i- + -tōrium -tory ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of territory¹

C15: from Latin territōrium land surrounding a town, from terra land

Idioms and Phrases

see come with the territory ; cover the field (territory) .

Example Sentences

Washington expects that the mines - that officials say will be delivered soon - would be used on Ukraine's territory, but away from densely-populated areas.

From BBC

More than 43,980 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.

From BBC

On Tuesday, Ukraine fired US-supplied longer-range missiles at Russian territory for the first time, a day after the US gave permission for their use.

From BBC

The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said such mines would be delivered soon and Washington expected that they would be used on Ukraine's territory.

From BBC

But Moscow is now clearly intent on reclaiming the territory lost on its own soil.

From BBC

Related Words

• area
• colony
• country
• district
• enclave
• field
• land
• nation
• neighborhood
• province
• sector
• state
• street
• terrain
• zone