county

1 of 2

noun (1)

coun·​ty ˈkau̇n-tē 

plural counties

1

: the domain of a count

2

a

: one of the territorial divisions of England and Wales and formerly also of Scotland and Northern Ireland constituting the chief units for administrative, judicial, and political purposes

b(1)

: the people of a county

(2)

British : the gentry of a county

3

: the largest territorial division for local government within a state of the U.S.

4

: the largest local administrative unit in various countries

county adjective

county

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural counties

archaic

: count entry 3

Examples of county in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Your county election office must receive your application for an absentee ballot no later than 12 days before the election. —Brittany Carloni, The Indianapolis Star, 15 Apr. 2024

The county Department of Environmental Health conducted a three-month study of 25 catering events at 10 wineries, 13 breweries and two private functions. —Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance in Century City over the weekend, hammering Trump for his role in overturning Roe vs. Wade. California has been granted federal disaster relief for nine counties hit hard by storms in February. —Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024

Additionally, a Cochise County Tourism Study conducted from 2019 to 2020 revealed that 62.1% of county visitors went to Bisbee, more than any nearby communities. —The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024

That unfortunate misstep of a modern-day county list song nevertheless got the crowd pumped for an energetic evening. —Jake Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Apr. 2024

All parcels in the Santa Clara County Weed Abatement Program are subject to a county inspection fee. —Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024

El Modena is 13–6 overall and No. 11 in the county rankings. —Steve Fryer, Orange County Register, 13 Apr. 2024

The county conducts roughly 14,000 inspections a year, and 97% of all restaurants pass their inspections, spokesman Ken Casparis previously told The Bee. —Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 12 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English counte, from Anglo-French cunté, counté, from Medieval Latin comitatus, from Late Latin, office of a count, from comit-, comes count — more at count

Noun (2)

modification of Middle French comte

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1539, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing county

• county agent
• administrative county
• county court
• county fair
• county seat
• county palatine
• sub-county
• county town
• inter-county
• county borough

Kids Definition

county

noun

coun·​ty

ˈkau̇nt-ē

plural counties

1

: the area owned by a count

2

: a division of a state or of a country for local government

Etymology

Noun

Middle English counte "division of the country for the purposes of government," from early French counté "region under control of a count," derived from Latin comes count — related to count entry 3