Definition of province
1a : a country or region brought under the control of the ancient Roman governmentb : an administrative district or division of a countryc provinces plural : all of a country except the metropolises
2a : a division of a country forming the jurisdiction of an archbishop or metropolitanb : a territorial unit of a religious order
3a : a biogeographic division of less rank than a regionb : an area that exhibits essential continuity of geological history; also : one characterized by particular structural or petrological features
4a : proper or appropriate function or scope : sphere that question is outside my provinceb : a department of knowledge or activity
From the M-W Editors
Examples of province in a Sentence
They left the city for life in the provinces.
a legal question outside the doctor's province
Recent Examples of province from the Web
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The People’s Defense Forces or HPG said in a statement Friday that its units fired at the Cougar helicopter Wednesday in the border province of Sirnak.
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Foreigners accounted for as much as 16.5 percent of the value of property sold in the Vancouver region before British Columbia imposed a tax in August, according to the province.
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White nose, first documented in New York in 2007, has now been detected in 31 states, and five Canadian provinces.
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In 1989, the entire province of Quebec lost power after an explosion on the sun sent a stream of particles traveling at a million miles per hour toward Earth.
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In any case, legal challenges brought by indigenous groups and others may put the project into limbo, making action by the province unnecessary.
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Two girls, ages 2 and 4, were among those killed, according to a list released by the local government in Minya, the province where the shooting took place.
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The raid by U.S. commandos in the hamlet of al Adhlan, in the Yemeni province of Mareb on May 23, also destroyed at least four homes.
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This 1836 work — in which a witless fop is assumed to be a powerful state functionary by corrupt politicians in the provinces — infuses scathing satire with giddy surrealism.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'province'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of province
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin provincia
First Known Use: 14th century
Synonym Discussion of province
Other Government and Politics Terms
PROVINCE Defined for English Language Learners
province
playDefinition of province for English Language Learners
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: any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into
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: a subject or area of interest that a person knows about or is involved in
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the provinces : the parts of a country that are away from large cities
PROVINCE Defined for Kids
province
playDefinition of province for Students
1 : a part of a country having a government of its own (as one of the divisions of Canada)
2 provinces plural : the part or parts of a country far from the capital or chief city
3 : an area of activity or authority the province of science
Learn More about province
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for province Spanish Central: Translation of province Nglish: Translation of province for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of province for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about province
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