1. (n.)department a distinct part of anything arranged in divisions; a division of a complexwhole or organized system.
2. department one of the branches of a governmental organization.
3. department (cap.) one of the principal divisions of the U.S. government, headed by a secretary who is a member of the president's cabinet: the Department of State.
Etymology: (1730–35; < F département, OF: division, act of dividing)
Definition of 'Department'
Princeton's WordNet
1. (noun)department, section a specialized division of a largeorganization "you'll find it in the hardware department"; "she got a job in the historical section of the Treasury"
2. (noun)department the territorial and administrative division of some countries (such as France)
3. (noun)department a specialized sphere of knowledge "baking is not my department"; "his work established a new department of literature"
1. (noun)department a division of a largeinstitution the company's finance/marketing department; the U.S. Department of Energy; a professor in the English department; She works in the lingerie department.
5. (verb)Department a territorial division; a district; esp., in France, one of the districts composed of several arrondissements into which the country is divided for governmental purposes; as, the Department of the Loire
1. Department a territorialdivision in France instituted in 1790, under which the old division into provinces was broken up; each department, of which there are now 87, is broken up into arrondissements.