bailiwick

American  

[bey-luh-wik] / ˈbeɪ ləˌwɪk /

noun

1. the district within which a bailie or bailiff has jurisdiction.

2. a person's area of skill, knowledge, authority, or work.

   to confine suggestions to one's own bailiwick.

   Synonyms:

   turf, territory, sphere, department, domain

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bailiwick British  

/ ˈbeɪlɪwɪk /

noun

1. law the area over which a bailiff has jurisdiction

2. a person's special field of interest, authority, or skill

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Other Word Forms

• subbailiwick noun

Etymology

Origin of bailiwick

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, equivalent to baili- bailie + wick wick ³

Explanation

A bailiwick is an area of knowledge in which a person or institution has control or expertise — as in "My bailiwick is international relations." There is a faintly old-fashioned, even pedantic air to the term now, so use with caution. Bailiwick can also mean a geographical area over which an official body has legal or political control, though this literal sense is less common nowadays. The word combines the Old English term bailiff, a local law officer, with -wick, a suffix denoting a specific district or jurisdiction. Britain's central criminal court, the famous Old Bailey, is so named because it was built along the ancient bailey — the defensive wall surrounding the original City of London.

Example Sentences

The bailiwick is placed below the UK and France in the 2025 survey and its overall score was unchanged compared with 2023.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

But he has intervened in reviews and jettisoned other drugs that fall outside his bailiwick.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

I didn’t want to have any input because that’s not my bailiwick.

From Salon • Nov. 23, 2024

Its abilities were astonishing — and squarely in the bailiwick of people who generate content, such as advertising copy and blog posts, for a living.

From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2023

“Yeah. That’s the way we been asked to play it. Bernie here—it’s his bailiwick, his jurisdiction, as the saying goes, right Bernie?”

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols