region

noun re·gion \ ˈrē-jən \

|Updated on: 7 Jul 2018

Definition of region

1 : an administrative area, division, or district; especially : the basic administrative unit for local government in Scotland

2 a : an indefinite area of the world or universe

b : a broad geographic area distinguished by similar features

c (1) : a major world area that supports a characteristic fauna

(2) : an area characterized by the prevalence of one or more vegetational climax types

3 a : any of the major subdivisions into which the body or one of its parts is divisible

b : an indefinite area surrounding a specified body part

a pain in the region of the heart

4 : a sphere of activity or interest : field

5 : any of the zones into which the atmosphere is divided according to height or the sea according to depth

6 : an open connected set together with none, some, or all of the points on its boundary

a simple closed curve divides a plane into two regions

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Examples of region in a Sentence

The bird returns to this region every year.
He's the company sales manager for the entire Southwest region.
She has a pain in the lower back region.
attempts to go outside of London and stimulate cultural life in the regions

Recent Examples of region from the Web

Glover has spent most of his 71 years in San Francisco and has an even clearer view of the changing region than Riley.

— joseph bien-kahn, WIRED, "Radical As Ever, Boots Riley Takes On the Tech Boom," 4 July 2018
The National Weather Service says the temperature in Phoenix’s Valley of the Sun region reached 75 degrees (23.8 Celsius) on March 26.

— anita snow, The Seattle Times, "2 Arizona kids left in car died from exposure, autopsies show," 3 July 2018
In Kenya's largely pastoralist Wajir County, prolonged drought is pushing growing numbers of the region's nomadic herders to see camels – and their milk – as a drought-safe investment.

— zoe tabary, The Christian Science Monitor, "A new use for ATMs in Kenya: camel milk dispenser," 3 July 2018
The policy sowed confusion and anger not only in the border region, but in Washington.

— Washington Post, "Separations at the border didn’t worry some Trump officials," 3 July 2018
New research suggests that marine mammals in the Arctic could be threatened by increasing ship traffic as the region’s ice melts.

— adam aton, Scientific American, "Ships Threaten Arctic Marine Mammals," 3 July 2018
Few occasions generate as much trash along the region’s beaches as Independence Day, one of the most raucous nights of the year for surf-side parties.

— joshua emerson smith, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Surfrider, volunteers prepare for post-Fourth of July beach cleanup," 3 July 2018
A few months ago, romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma, Ariz. region was yanked from shelves across the country due to E.coli contamination.

— korin miller, SELF, "Officials Think They’ve Finally Found the Source of the Romaine Lettuce E. Coli Outbreak," 2 July 2018
The Phillies won again Sunday while the region held its collective breath over the LeBron James decision.

— matt breen, Philly.com, "Phillies have to clean up after surviving tough stretch | Extra Innings," 2 July 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of region

Middle English regioun, from Anglo-French regiun, from Latin region-, regio line, direction, area, from regere to direct

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

region Synonyms

Synonyms

area, demesne, field, zone;

Related Words

corner, section;

locale, locality, location, locus, place, point, position, site, space, spot;

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

REGION Defined for English Language Learners

region

noun

Definition of region for English Language Learners

: a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way
: a place on your body : an area that is near a specified part of your body
the regions : the parts of a country that are not close to the capital city