gerrymandering

noun

ger·​ry·​man·​der·​ing ˈjer-ē-ˌman-d(ə-)riŋ 

 also  ˈger-;

 originally  ˈger-

: the practice of dividing or arranging a territorial unit into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage in elections

To an untrained eye, the proposed boundaries look like the etchings of a mapmaker on heavy pharmaceuticals. In reality, it's a masterpiece of diabolical gerrymandering.

—Carl Hiaasen

Bipartisan gerrymandering following the 2000 reapportionment produced hundreds of safe Democratic seats, hundreds of safe Republican seats, and not much else.

—Peter Beinart

compare cracking, packing

Examples of gerrymandering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This is compared to the state’s current congressional map from 2021, which favors Republicans in all four districts by anywhere from 19 to 28 points, according to the same outlet, which pointed to a Princeton University gerrymandering study. —Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 7 Oct. 2025

Much has been written about the various attempts to create more Republican House districts through extreme gerrymandering. —Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025

Now, faced with deliberate racial gerrymandering in other states and unchecked executive overreach at home, California must respond with equal determination. —Trena Turner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025

Newsom’s gerrymandering proposal explicitly seeks to flip five seats held by California Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives by persuading voters to approve new maps tilted in favor of his Democratic Party. —Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

gerrymander entry 2 + -ing entry 1

First Known Use

1812, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gerrymandering

• meandering
• philandering
• pandering
• slandering