ENGLISH
REFERENCE

district

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford US //ˈdɪstɹɪkt// UK //dˈɪstɹɪkt// dis·trict Archaic General-service Informal

n. a specific area of a city or country that is known for a particular activity or business. You often use this word to talk about parts of a town like the shopping area or the theater area.

n. an administrative or functional division of a territory, often defined by a specific purpose or characteristic. Frequently used to categorise urban zones or regional jurisdictions.


SIMPLE

The business district is very busy on Monday mornings.

CONTEXTUAL

The city council decided to build a new park in the historic district to attract more tourists to the area.

COMPLEX

Urban planners are currently debating whether to rezone the industrial district for residential use to address the growing housing shortage in the city center.

Synonyms
Origin

From French district, from Medieval Latin districtus (“a district within which the lord may distrain, also jurisdiction”), from Latin districtus, past participle of distringere (“to draw asunder, compel, distrain”), from dis- (“apart”) + stringere (“to draw tight, strain”). Doublet of Detroit.

Usage

Often used as a modifier before another noun, such as 'district court' or 'district manager'.

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