precinct

noun

pre·cinct | \ ˈprē-ˌsiŋ(k)t

Definition of precinct

1 : a part of a territory with definite bounds or functions often established for administrative purposes : district: such as

a : a subdivision of a county, town, city, or ward for election purposes

b : a division of a city for police control

2a : an enclosure bounded by the walls of a building —often used in plural

b : a sphere of thought, action, or influence —often used in plural

3a precincts plural : the region immediately surrounding a place : environs

b : place, locale

4 : boundary —often used in plural a ruined tower within the precincts of the squire's grounds— T. L. Peacock

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Examples of precinct in a Sentence

a sexist attitude that was pretty common in the precincts of the automobile business

Recent Examples on the Web

The county announced Tuesday evening that voting hours at the precinct would be extended to 9 pm. — P.r. Lockhart, Vox, "Voting hours in parts of Georgia extended after technical errors create long lines," 7 Nov. 2018 While other people were handcuffed in the precinct, no one else was in pink handcuffs. — Zolan Kanno-youngs, WSJ, "Transgender Woman Says NYPD Falsely Accused Her of Misrepresenting Herself," 22 Jan. 2019 Rossi’s longtime Sammamish precinct preferred Schrier by an 8-percentage-point margin in the Nov. 6 vote tally. — Jim Brunner, The Seattle Times, "Map: Kim Schrier won big in King County suburbs, even in Dino Rossi’s neighborhood," 14 Nov. 2018 The Future: The American voting system is decentralized, spliced up into precincts, municipalities, districts, and counties that administer their own defenses against interference. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "If the 2018 Election Is Hacked, This Is How It Will Happen," 5 Nov. 2018 At Valparaiso High School, which housed three Center Township precincts, election judge Kathleen Evans said turnout was steady but a little slow. — Staff Report, Post-Tribune, "Indiana primary turnout: 'A flow, but it’s slow'," 8 May 2018 Voter turnout rates at a precinct near Stanislaus State University rose to an amazing 126%, up from just 25% in 2014. — Rebecca Dancer, Teen Vogue, "Midterm Elections Voter Participation Seriously Increased at These Colleges Across the Country," 7 Nov. 2018 While all police precincts have their distinct challenges, almost every state in America shares the exact same systemic failing: a backlog of rape kits. — Bridget Read, Vogue, "Mariska Hargitay, SVU’s Olivia Benson, and Real-Life Prosecutor Kym Worthy Talk I Am Evidence on HBO," 16 Apr. 2018 There are no national standards for figuring out how many voting booths a precinct should have, how many poll workers or how many lines, much less how the lines should be divided. — Jo Craven Mcginty, WSJ, "A Long Wait to Vote? Odds Are, You Were in the A-to-M Line," 16 Nov. 2018

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