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

In her home state of California, redistricting Proposition 50 passed, allowing the legislature to draw a new map targeting five vulnerable House Republicans to offset Texas gerrymandering that added five seats to its GOP delegation. —Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 6 Nov. 2025

But partisan gerrymandering sometimes overlaps with racial gerrymandering. —NPR, 6 Nov. 2025

The redistricting move, aimed at countering Republican gerrymandering in states like Texas, adds momentum to the Democratic strategy heading into the 2026 midterms. —Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025

Facing some quickly crumbling opposition from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Prop 50 was instigated as a response to Trump’s desire to retain GOP control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms via surgical gerrymandering in Red States like Texas. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 4 Nov. 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