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⇱ SECTION Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com


section

American  
[sek-shuhn] / ˈsɛk ʃən /

noun

  1. a part that is cut off or separated.

  2. a distinct part or subdivision of anything, as an object, country, community, class, or the like: the left section of a drawer.

    the members' section of a golf course;

    the left section of a drawer.

  3. a distinct part or subdivision of a writing, as of a newspaper, legal code, chapter, etc.: section 2 of the bylaws.

    the financial section of a daily paper;

    section 2 of the bylaws.

  4. one of a number of parts that can be fitted together to make a whole.

    sections of a fishing rod.

  5. (in most of the United States west of Ohio) one of the 36 numbered subdivisions, each one square mile (2.59 sq. km or 640 acres), of a township.

  6. an act or instance of cutting; separation by cutting.

  7. Surgery.

    1. the making of an incision.

    2. an incision.

  8. a thin slice of a tissue, mineral, or the like, as for microscopic examination.

    Synonyms:
    specimen, slice, segment, part
  9. a representation of an object as it would appear if cut by a plane, showing its internal structure.

  10. Military.

    1. a small unit consisting of two or more squads.

    2. Also called staff section.  any of the subdivisions of a staff.

    3. a small tactical division in naval and air units.

  11. Railroads.

    1. a division of a sleeping car containing both an upper and a lower berth.

    2. a length of trackage, roadbed, signal equipment, etc., maintained by one crew.

  12. any of two or more trains, buses, or the like, running on the same route and schedule at the same time, one right behind the other, and considered as one unit, as when a second is necessary to accommodate more passengers than the first can carry.

    On holidays the New York to Boston train runs in three sections.

  13. a segment of a naturally segmented fruit, as of an orange or grapefruit.

  14. a division of an orchestra or band containing all the instruments of one class: the string section.

    a rhythm section;

    the string section.

  15. Bookbinding. signature.

  16. Also called section mark.  a mark used to indicate a subdivision of a book, chapter, or the like, or as a mark of reference to a footnote.

  17. Theater. one of a series of circuits for controlling certain lights, as footlights.

  18. shape.


verb (used with object)

  1. to cut or divide into sections.

  2. to cut through so as to present a section.

  3. Surgery. to make an incision.

section British  
/ ˈsɛkʃən /

noun

  1. a part cut off or separated from the main body of something

  2. a part or subdivision of a piece of writing, book, etc

    the sports section of the newspaper

  3. one of several component parts

  4. a distinct part or subdivision of a country, community, etc

  5. an area one mile square (640 acres) in a public survey, esp in the western parts of the US and Canada

  6. a plot of land for building on, esp in a suburban area

  7. the section of a railway track that is maintained by a single crew or is controlled by a particular signal box

  8. the act or process of cutting or separating by cutting

  9. a representation of a portion of a building or object exposed when cut by an imaginary vertical plane so as to show its construction and interior

  10. geometry

    1. a plane surface formed by cutting through a solid

    2. the shape or area of such a plane surface Compare cross section

  11. surgery any procedure involving the cutting or division of an organ, structure, or part, such as a Caesarian section

  12. a thin slice of biological tissue, mineral, etc, prepared for examination by a microscope

  13. a segment of an orange or other citrus fruit

  14. a small military formation, typically comprising two or more squads or aircraft

  15. a fare stage on a bus, tram, etc

  16. music

    1. an extended division of a composition or movement that forms a coherent part of the structure

      the development section

    2. a division in an orchestra, band, etc, containing instruments belonging to the same class

      the brass section

  17. Also called: signature.   gathering.   gather.   quire.  a folded printing sheet or sheets ready for gathering and binding

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to cut or divide into sections

  2. to cut through so as to reveal a section

  3. (in drawing, esp mechanical drawing) to shade so as to indicate sections

  4. surgery to cut or divide (an organ, structure, or part)

  5. social welfare to have (a mentally disturbed person) confined in a mental hospital under an appropriate section of the mental health legislation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See part.

Other Word Forms

  • half-section noun
  • multisection adjective
  • unsectioned adjective

Etymology

Origin of section

First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin sectiōn- (stem of sectiō ) “a cutting,” equivalent to sect(us) (past participle of secāre “to cut”; saw 1 ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The male palp alone can grow to around 5 cm, nearly four times longer than the front section of the body and almost as long as the spider's longest legs.

From Science Daily • Apr. 6, 2026

Anderson accepts there are few, if any, bins along the famous central section of the wall, not even in the car park at Steel Rigg, the gateway to its most visited stretch.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

That would have been plenty, but a third section features Andrew Dismukes as an annoyed father refusing to listen to his 6-year-old son’s words.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

From there, section by section, the exhibition groups her artworks with those who claimed or emulated her.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

On the left side of the door was the kids’ section of the store.

From "A Monster of a Mystery (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #5)" by Franklin W. Dixon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.