bailiwick

noun

bai·​li·​wick ˈbā-li-ˌwik 

-lē-

1

law enforcement : the office or jurisdiction of a bailiff (see bailiff sense 1a)

2

: the sphere in which one has superior knowledge or authority : a special domain (see domain sense 4)

… concerns at the spy agency that the Pentagon is intruding into its traditional bailiwick.

—Scott Shane and Mark Mazzetti

Did you know?

The first half of the word bailiwick comes from the Middle English word for "bailiff"—in this case, a term referring to a sheriff or chief officer of a town in medieval England, not the officer who assists today in U.S. courtrooms. Bailiff comes, via Anglo-French, from the Medieval Latin verb bajulare, meaning "to care for" or "to support." The second half of bailiwick comes from wik, a Middle English word for "dwelling place" or "village," which ultimately hails from the Latin word vicus, meaning "village." (This root is also thought to have given English -wich and -wick, suffixes used in place names like Norwich and Warwick.) Although bailiwick dates from the 15th century, the "special domain of knowledge" sense we use most often today did not appear in English until the middle of the 19th century.

Synonyms

• realm
• area
• domain
• department
• element
• field
• sphere
• walk
• kingdom
• province

Examples of bailiwick in a Sentence

questions about organization of the fund drive are my bailiwick

Recent Examples on the Web

Nestlé underperformed under predecessor Mark Schneider, who diversified beyond the company’s traditional bailiwick of coffee, food, and pet products to the frustration of shareholders. —Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2025

Elliot Kozolchyk, Fort Lauderdale Elliot Kozolchyk, admitted to the Bar in 2009, made getting people their unpaid wages his bailiwick and maintains that today through his Fort Lauderdale firm, Koz Law. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2025

That’s totally their bailiwick. —Quanta Magazine, 7 Aug. 2025

These days lots of other folks are stepping into this West Queens bailiwick, drawn by qualities that include a burgeoning foo d scene, a location highly proximate to Manhattan, a beguiling history and most of all, Astoria’s comparative affordability vis-à-vis neighboring districts. —Jeffrey Steele, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English baillifwik, from baillif + wik dwelling place, village, from Old English wīc, from Latin vicus village — more at vicinity

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bailiwick

• actinic
• agnatic
• bolshevik
• candlestick
• chloritic
• deontic
• firebrick
• herpetic
• judaic
• lunatic
• orthotic
• politic

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Kids Definition

bailiwick

noun

bai·​li·​wick

ˈbā-li-ˌwik

: one's area of special interest or expertise