gerrymander

noun

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ger·ry·man·der | \ ˈjer-ē-ˌman-dər

also ˈger-; originally ˈger-

Definition of gerrymander

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the act or method of gerrymandering

2 : a district or pattern of districts varying greatly in size or population as a result of gerrymandering three new gerrymanders

gerrymander

verb

gerrymandered; gerrymandering\ ˈjer-ē-ˌman-d(ə-)riŋ

also ˈger- ; originally ˈger- \; gerrymanders

Definition of gerrymander (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to divide or arrange (a territorial unit) into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage : to subject to gerrymandering The government gerrymandered urban districts to create rural majorities.— Matthew Reiss

2 : to divide or arrange (an area) into political units to give special advantages to one group gerrymander a school district

Examples of gerrymander in a Sentence

Verb gerrymandering urban districts to give rural voters a majority

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The other will be in New York where the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, will soon hear a challenge to Democrats’ aggressive gerrymander. — David Lautersenior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2022 The 2011 gerrymander also went out of its way to eliminate competitive legislative districts. — Craig Gilbert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2022 Republicans charged that, while the map includes more compact districts, the Democratic advantage still amounted to a partisan gerrymander. — Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2022 But the Legislature was too obviously eager to take partisan advantage, and on Wednesday a majority on the state’s highest court blocked the gerrymander. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 27 Apr. 2022 Late last month, Anne Arundel County Senior Judge Lynne Battaglia struck down a map Democrats had passed in December, calling it an unconstitutional gerrymander that disadvantaged Republicans. — Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2022 The State Supreme Court had rejected an initial version of the congressional map in January, calling it a Republican gerrymander that violated the Ohio Constitution. — New York Times, 29 Mar. 2022 The map replaced one that the Ohio Supreme Court -- in an opinion written by O’Connor and the court’s three Democratic justices -- rejected as a pro-Republican gerrymander in January. — Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland, 29 Mar. 2022 But the gerrymander has drawn the sharpest rebukes. — New York Times, 18 Feb. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Although Missouri has large Republican majorities in both legislative chambers, a conservative coalition has split with GOP leaders over how aggressively to gerrymander district lines to their favor. — Arkansas Online, 2 Apr. 2022 This seems clear enough: Don’t racially gerrymander. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 8 Feb. 2022 Naturally, while this sort of behavior is entirely consistent with the history of their party as detailed in my first installment, Democrats have postured themselves as innocent victims forced to gerrymander against their will. — Dan Mclaughlin, National Review, 16 Feb. 2022 But Democrats have used their power to gerrymander more aggressively than analysts expected. — Compiled Democrat-gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 7 Feb. 2022 That Ohio gerrymander that the report called out got wiped off the books this month, when Ohio’s Supreme Court ruled the map violated the state constitution. — David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2022 But Democrats have used their power to gerrymander more aggressively than expected. — New York Times, 6 Feb. 2022 So it's really been the different states attempting to gerrymander intellectual disability that has been confusing, not the standard. — Tasha Lemley, Scientific American, 4 Feb. 2022 This has cleared the field for blue states to gerrymander the bejeesus out of their maps. — Kimberley A. Strassel, WSJ, 3 Feb. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gerrymander.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for gerrymander

Noun

Elbridge gerry + salamander; from the shape of an election district formed during Gerry's governorship of Massachusetts

Verb

derivative of gerrrymander entry 1

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Last Updated

16 May 2022

Cite this Entry

“Gerrymander.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gerrymander. Accessed 16 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for gerrymander

gerrymander

noun

ger·ry·man·der | \ ˈjer-ē-ˌman-dər also and originally ˈger-ē-

Legal Definition of gerrymander

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the act or method of gerrymandering

2 : a district or pattern of districts varying greatly in size or population as a result of gerrymandering

gerrymander

transitive verb

gerrymandered; gerrymandering

Legal Definition of gerrymander (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to divide (a territorial unit) into election districts to give one political party an electoral majority in a large number of districts while concentrating the voting strength of the opposition in as few districts as possible

2 : to divide (an area) into political units to give special advantages to one group gerrymander a school district