department

[ dih-pahrt-muhnt ]

/ dɪˈpɑrt mənt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR department ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a distinct part of anything arranged in divisions; a division of a complex whole or organized system.

one of the principal branches of a governmental organization: the sanitation department.

(initial capital letter) one of the principal divisions of the U.S. federal government, headed by a secretary who is a member of the president's cabinet.

a division of a business enterprise dealing with a particular area of activity: the personnel department.

a section of a retail store selling a particular class or kind of goods: the sportswear department.

one of the sections of a school or college dealing with a particular field of knowledge: the English department.

one of the large districts into which certain countries, as France, are divided for administrative purposes.

a division of official business, duties, or functions: judicial departments.

a sphere or province of activity, knowledge, or responsibility: Paying the bills is not my department.

(usually initial capital letter) U.S. Army. (formerly) a large geographical division of the U.S. or its possessions as divided for military and defense purposes: the Hawaiian Department.

Origin of department

1730–35; < French département, equivalent to départ(ir) (see depart) + -ment -ment

SYNONYMS FOR department

1 branch, bureau, section, unit, segment.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR department ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM department

de·part·men·tal

[dih-pahrt-men-tl, dee-pahrt-] /dɪ pɑrtˈmɛn tl, ˌdi pɑrt-/, adjective de·part·men·tal·ly, adverb non·de·part·men·tal, adjective non·de·part·men·tal·ly, adverb

pre·de·part·men·tal, adjective sub·de·part·ment, noun sub·de·part·men·tal, adjective

Words nearby department

depants, depardieu, depart, departed, departee, department, department of agriculture, department of commerce, department of defense, department of education, department of energy

Example sentences from the Web for department

Among other things, the bill appropriates $1.1 trillion in funding—including over $550 billion for the Department of Defense.

Merry Christmas, Defense Contractors! |Veronique de Rugy |December 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The four children were taken into custody by the Department of Social Services.

Beaten By His Church for Being Gay |Justin Jones |December 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Exactly one year earlier, the department lost two firefighters.

The Mystery Death Of A Female Firefighter |Christopher Moraff |December 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
In 1974, 75 members of the group descended on a Copenhagen department store.

Before the Bros, SantaCon Was as an Anti-Corporate Protest |David Freedlander |December 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Within the department there are officers who can speak or understand more than 60 foreign languages.

The Wildly Peaceful, Human, Almost Boring, Ultimately Great New York City Protests for Eric Garner |Mike Barnicle |December 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The other two classes in this department include quite a number of our young married people.

Seven Graded Sunday Schools |Various
The enlargement of the judicial power of the department was to be effected by a different process.

Inquiry Into the Origin and Course of Political Parties in the United States |Martin Van Buren
Religion is not only a Sunday garment, but a living force that shows itself in every department of life.

The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church |G. H. Gerberding
I do hope this will facilitate your Department's investigations.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 159, October 13, 1920 |Various
And everyone who's supposed to go through Shielding on Thursday has the department number stamped on a yellow background.

The Very Secret Agent |Mari Wolf

British Dictionary definitions for department

department

/ (dɪˈpɑːtmənt) /

noun

a specialized division of a large concern, such as a business, store, or university the geography department

a major subdivision or branch of the administration of a government

a branch or subdivision of learning physics is a department of science

a territorial and administrative division in several countries, such as France

informal a specialized sphere of knowledge, skill, or activity wine-making is my wife's department

Derived forms of department

departmental (ˌdiːpɑːtˈmɛntəl), adjective departmentally, adverb

Word Origin for department

C18: from French département, from départir to divide; see depart

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

department

noun

Origin of department

SYNONYMS FOR department

OTHER WORDS FROM department

Words nearby department

Example sentences from the Web for department

British Dictionary definitions for department

noun

Derived forms of department

Word Origin for department

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

department

noun

Origin of department

SYNONYMS FOR department

OTHER WORDS FROM department

Words nearby department

Words related to department

Example sentences from the Web for department

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for department

noun

Derived forms of department

Word Origin for department

British Dictionary definitions for department