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

Shortly after leaving the staffer's home, Moore was arrested by police and booked into the county jail. —Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 17 Dec. 2025

Cases began in 1999, span four counties Court records show that Speer’s DWI cases date back to 1999, when he was found guilty in Nodaway County Circuit Court of driving while intoxicated. —Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 17 Dec. 2025

Which counties and cities are exempt? —Nushrat Rahman, Freep.com, 17 Dec. 2025

Tuesday will feature more witnesses called by prosecutors, including at least one federal agent who was at the county courthouse on April 18, the day Dugan is accused of obstructing agents who were there to arrest the man. —John Diedrich, jsonline.com, 16 Dec. 2025

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

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

Rhymes for county

• bounty

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