Definitions for department
dɪˈpɑrt məntde·part·ment

Princeton's WordNet(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. department, section(noun)

   a specialized division of a large organization

   "you'll find it in the hardware department"; "she got a job in the historical section of the Treasury"

2. department(noun)

   the territorial and administrative division of some countries (such as France)

3. department(noun)

   a specialized sphere of knowledge

   "baking is not my department"; "his work established a new department of literature"

Wiktionary(2.40 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. department(Noun)

   A part, portion, or subdivision.

   Etymology: From département.

2. department(Noun)

   A distinct course of life, action, study, or the like; appointed sphere or walk; province.

   Etymology: From département.

3. department(Noun)

   Subdivision of business or official duty; especially, one of the principal divisions of executive government; as, the treasury department; the war department; also, in a university, one of the divisions of instructions; as, the medical department; the department of physics.

   Etymology: From département.

4. department(Noun)

   A territorial division; a district; especially, in France, one of the districts composed of several arrondissements into which the country is divided for governmental purposes.

   Etymology: From département.

5. department(Noun)

   A military subdivision of a country; as, the Department of the Potomac.

   Etymology: From département.

6. department(Noun)

   Act of departing; departure.

   Etymology: From département.

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Department(verb)

   act of departing; departure

   Etymology: [F. dpartement, fr. dpartir. See Depart, v. i.]

2. Department(verb)

   a part, portion, or subdivision

   Etymology: [F. dpartement, fr. dpartir. See Depart, v. i.]

3. Department(verb)

   a distinct course of life, action, study, or the like; appointed sphere or walk; province

   Etymology: [F. dpartement, fr. dpartir. See Depart, v. i.]

4. Department(verb)

   subdivision of business or official duty; especially, one of the principal divisions of executive government; as, the treasury department; the war department; also, in a university, one of the divisions of instruction; as, the medical department; the department of physics

   Etymology: [F. dpartement, fr. dpartir. See Depart, v. i.]

5. Department(verb)

   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

   Etymology: [F. dpartement, fr. dpartir. See Depart, v. i.]

6. Department(verb)

   a military subdivision of a country; as, the Department of the Potomac

   Etymology: [F. dpartement, fr. dpartir. See Depart, v. i.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Department

   Department is the name given to the administrative and political subdivisions of many countries. As a territorial unit, "department" was first used by the French Revolutionary governments, apparently to emphasize that each territory was simply an administrative sub-division of the united sovereign nation. This attempt to de-emphasize local political identity contrasts strongly with countries which are divided into "states". Today, departments may exist either with or without a representative assembly and executive head depending upon the countries' constitutional and administrative structure. The United States used this designation for the "Department of Alaska" during the early period of US rule in Alaska.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Department

   de-pärt′ment, n. a part: a separate part of business or duty: a section of the administration: a division of a country, esp. of France.—adj. Department′al.—adv. Department′ally.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Department

   a territorial division 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.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. department

   A term by which the divisions in the public services are distinguished, as the civil, the commissariat, the military, the naval, the victualling, &c.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. department

   A facet of a business, company, enterprise, organization or form of unity assembly, unity council, unity legislature, unity senate, house of representatives, unity government, local unity government, regional unity government, national unity government, european unity government and international unity government with a specific purpose.

   The department had all the resources and income that they needed.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 18, 2020  

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'department' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #531

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'department' in Written Corpus Frequency: #875

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'department' in Nouns Frequency: #153

How to pronounce department?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say department in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of department in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of department in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of department in a Sentence

1. Anthony Casso:

   The executive order doesn’t appear to be a coopting state and local resources, the Department of Homeland Security is asking state governors to enter agreements, but a state can say no.

2. Police Commissioner William J. Bratton:

   Three generations of police in this family. And now the latest generation served here with us in the New York City Police Department, and tonight, he did what every other officer in the NYPD does. When the call comes, he runs toward danger. It's the last time he will respond to that call.

3. Yolanda Pittman:

   I am here to offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of the Department.

4. Ron Johnson:

   It is concerning that when I wrote to the FBI and Department of Justice, they never told me about the fact that they had some FBI asset, whether it was an agent or informant, tailing Soofi and Simpson, why didn’t they intervene? As a member of the Senate oversight committee, I think these agencies should be honest when we actually ask them the questions. But it begs the question, what was the FBI doing in Garland, and why wasn’t the agency direct with me when we first started writing letters about this back in 2015?

5. Tim Heaphy:

   Loretta sent me a picture of her as a Harvard cheerleader in a pyramid, she was comfortable sharing this with Eric Holder and other department leaders. She laughed at herself.

Images & Illustrations of department

Popularity rank by frequency of use