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

Representatives for Los Angeles, Carson and Redondo Beach voted to support the project, along with the offices of two county supervisors representing the South Bay, both of whom sit on the Metro board with Butts. —Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024

Flashback: Voters already took their anger out on Cotham by ousting her mother, Pat Cotham, from the county board of commissioners. —Alexandria Sands, Axios, 25 Oct. 2024

The Arizona Republic is tracking early ballot returns in Arizona's biggest county daily. —Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 25 Oct. 2024

If remains are on the shoulder of the highway or off the busy portion of the roadway, contact your local county sheriff. —Alex Groth, Journal Sentinel, 25 Oct. 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

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

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