section

noun

sec·tion | \ ˈsek-shən

Definition of section

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : the action or an instance of cutting or separating by cutting

b : a part set off by or as if by cutting

2 : a distinct part or portion of something written (such as a chapter, law, or newspaper)

3a : the profile of something as it would appear if cut through by an intersecting plane

b : the plane figure resulting from the cutting of a solid by a plane

4 : a natural subdivision of a taxonomic group

5 : a character § used as a mark for the beginning of a section and as a reference mark

6 : a piece of land one square mile in area forming especially one of the 36 subdivisions of a township

7 : a distinct part of a territorial or political area, community, or group of people the historic section of the city

8a : a part that may be, is, or is viewed as separated a board cut into sections the northern section of the route

b : one segment of a fruit : carpel

9 : a basic military unit usually having a special function

10 : a very thin slice (as of tissue) suitable for microscopic examination

11a : one of the classes formed by dividing the students taking a course

b : one of the discussion groups into which a conference or organization is divided

12a : a part of a permanent railroad way under the care of a particular crew

b : one of two or more vehicles or trains which run on the same schedule

13 : one of several component parts that may be assembled or reassembled a bookcase in sections

14 : a division of an orchestra composed of one class of instruments the string section

15 : signature sense 3b

section

verb

sectioned; sectioning\ ˈsek-sh(ə-)niŋ

Definition of section (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to cut or separate into sections section an orange

2 : to represent in sections

intransitive verb

: to become cut or separated into parts

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about section

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Choose the Right Synonym for section

Noun

part, portion, piece, member, division, section, segment, fragment mean something less than the whole. part is a general term appropriate when indefiniteness is required. they ran only part of the way portion implies an assigned or allotted part. cut the pie into six portions piece applies to a separate or detached part of a whole. a puzzle with 500 pieces member suggests one of the functional units composing a body. a structural member division applies to a large or diversified part. the manufacturing division of the company section applies to a relatively small or uniform part. the entertainment section of the newspaper segment applies to a part separated or marked out by or as if by natural lines of cleavage. the retired segment of the population fragment applies to a part produced by or as if by breaking off. only a fragment of the play still exists

Examples of section in a Sentence

Noun

the upper section of the bridge This section of the road is closed. the frozen food section in the supermarket the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn Do you want to sit in the nonsmoking section? The dictionary includes a section on signs and symbols. Section 1123 of the bankruptcy code. ads that target one section of the population The siding comes in five-foot sections.

Verb

Peel and section the orange. Section the chicken and marinate the parts. She was sectioned by the judge.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Fans flooded the comments section of the post with words of support and their own stories of love and heartbreak. — Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, "Todd Chrisley's Cryptic Instagram Post About 'Loss' Has Fans Worried About His Family," 17 Feb. 2019 Majorelle opened a large section of the garden to the public in 1947. — Marian Mcevoy, ELLE Decor, "An Intimate Look Inside Yves Saint Laurent’s Private Marrakech Home," 2 Aug. 2018 The Villages at Harmony, a new section planned for nearly 700 homes in four enclaves, opened earlier this year. — Katherine Feser, Houston Chronicle, "11 suburban Houston communities among nation's top sellers," 12 July 2018 The largest intact section of the aircraft was about 50 feet long, Mr. Hawthorne said at a news conference. — Alison Sider, WSJ, "Plane Flying Cargo for Amazon Crashes in Texas," 23 Feb. 2019 This section of the homepage will only surface videos from sources YouTube considers authoritative. — Issie Lapowsky, WIRED, "YouTube Debuts Plan to Promote and Fund 'Authoritative' News," 9 July 2018 About 15 minutes into his speech, a man in a red Trump campaign hat shoved BBC cameraman Ron Skeans, who was covering the appearance from the press section with his colleagues, according to the BBC and video of the episode. — Alex Leary, WSJ, "White House Calls on Trump Supporters to Behave Peacefully at Rallies," 12 Feb. 2019 Instagram users are lighting up the comment section of Khloé Kardashian's most recent photograph, and accusing the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star of a major Photoshop snafu. — Nicole Saunders, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Internet Collectively Called Out Khloé Kardashian's Major Photoshop Fail," 1 Feb. 2019 With sections to log your daily to-do’s, monthly calendar, notes, long-term wants and more, your BuJo is customized to your life. — Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, "What Is a Bullet Journal? Everything You Need to Know Before You BuJo," 30 Jan. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

For Mary Katrantzou’s Fall 2019 collection at London Fashion Week yesterday, the designer sectioned her rainbow-bright lineup into four distinct themes, all centred around nature: earth, air, fire, and water. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, "Mary Katrantzou Makes the Case for Spunky Clip-In Streaks," 17 Feb. 2019 The startup manufactures big steel pods sectioned into 43-square-foot bedrooms. — Brittany Meiling, The Seattle Times, "Would you rent a bed by the hour? ‘Napping pod’ startup targets exhausted workers, students," 12 Dec. 2018 Photos posted to Instagram by the student paper The Purdue Exponent show a large room without windows, with desks, beds, and dressers sectioned off by furniture. — Suzannah Weiss, Teen Vogue, "Purdue University Temporary Housing Under Scrutiny After Photos Go Viral," 30 Aug. 2018 This human riffed on a manhattan and named it a confused human, a dry and malty brew: Jack Daniel’s, Cinzano sweet vermouth, lemonade, cherry syrup and a lemon slice immaculately sectioned by the robot. — WSJ, "Robot Restaurants: The Good Versus the Gimmicks," 3 Oct. 2018 However, instead of just one big ponytail sectioned off into puffs with rubber bands, he's divided his hair into several smaller ones, complete with green, red, and yellow elastics. — Sharine Taylor, Allure, "For These Dancehall Artists, Hair Is Just as Important as the Music," 27 Sep. 2018 Black people are four times more likely to be sectioned than whites. — The Economist, "An alarming rise in mental-health sectioning in Britain," 19 Apr. 2018 The processing center is sectioned off by pieces of cyclone fence attached in some places with bolts and zip ties. — Molly Hennessy-fiske, latimes.com, "Honduran migrant who was separated from family is found dead in Texas jail in an apparent suicide," 10 June 2018 Initially, thaw entire package for a few hours in the refrigerator, use what’s needed, then section out individual portions in separate freezer bags to refreeze. — Jennifer Rude Klett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Table for 1: For solo diners, cooking at home offers many perks," 12 July 2018

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

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Dictionary Entries near section

Statistics for section

Last Updated

17 Mar 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for section

The first known use of section was in 1534

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More Definitions for section

section

noun

English Language Learners Definition of section

(Entry 1 of 2)

: one of the parts that form something

: a particular area that is part of a larger place

: a part of a newspaper, play, book, etc.

section

verb

English Language Learners Definition of section (Entry 2 of 2)

: to divide (something) into parts

British : to officially send (a mentally ill person) to a psychiatric hospital

See the full definition for section in the English Language Learners Dictionary

section

noun

sec·tion | \ ˈsek-shən

Kids Definition of section

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a division of a thing or place A section of the fence broke.

2 : a part cut off or separated a section of an orange

3 : a part of a written work the sports section of a newspaper

4 : cross section sense 1

section

verb

sectioned; sectioning

Kids Definition of section (Entry 2 of 2)

: to cut into parts

section

noun

sec·tion | \ ˈsek-shən

Medical Definition of section

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the action or an instance of cutting or separating by cutting especially : the action of dividing (as tissues) surgically nerve section abdominal section — see cesarean section

2 : a natural subdivision of a taxonomic group

3 : a very thin slice (as of tissue) suitable for microscopic examination