sector

noun

sec·tor | \ ˈsek-tər

, -ˌtȯr\

Definition of sector

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a geometric figure bounded by two radii and the included arc of a circle

b(1) : a subdivision of a defensive military position

(2) : a portion of a military front or area of operation

c : an area or portion resembling a sector bilingual sector of town— David Kleinberg

d : a sociological, economic, or political subdivision of society cooperation between the public and private sectors— Peter Chapman

2 : a mathematical instrument consisting of two rulers connected at one end by a joint and marked with several scales

3 : a subdivision of a track on a computer disk

sector

verb

sec·tor | \ ˈsek-tər

sectored; sectoring\ ˈsek-t(ə-)riŋ

Definition of sector (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to divide into or furnish with sectors

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Examples of sector in a Sentence

Noun

He was assigned to the northern sector. Data is stored on the disk in 512-byte sectors.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Her sweeping political reforms sparked opposition from a sector of the conservative Russian nobility. — National Geographic, "This 'pretender princess' tried to steal Catherine the Great's throne," 6 Aug. 2019 Beyond prompting teenage protesters to take to the streets, discontent over the city’s governance has flared even among usually apolitical sectors of society, and further polarized establishment and pro-democracy camps. — Time Staff, Time, "Hong Kong's Civil Servants Join a Widening Protest Movement," 2 Aug. 2019 But courts are indeed badly split over whether digital spaces—rapidly becoming a dominant sector of the US economy—also fall under Title III protections. — Kate Cox, Ars Technica, "Domino’s takes its case for non-accessible design to the Supreme Court," 2 Aug. 2019 People had food, showers and space when Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer visited migrant shelters in the El Paso sector of the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday. — oregonlive.com, "Oregon’s Rep. Earl Blumenauer visits border patrol facilities in El Paso," 2 Aug. 2019 Then in December, 195 countries met in Paris to sign the first global climate agreement, which would require every sector of the economy to cut emissions. — Akshat Rathi, Quartz, "Europe is beating the US in the battery race—with China’s help," 31 July 2019 Katy ISD officials are asking the public to help them find an appropriate name for the district’s newest high school, to be located along the 27500 block of Fulshear Bend Drive in the fast-growing southwest sector of the district. — Mike Glenn, Houston Chronicle, "Katy ISD asking the public to help name new high school," 22 July 2019 This no longer resembles the power of a company monopolising a particular sector of the economy: Facebook is stretching into completely new territory, unrelated to its original product, with apparent plans to dominate that too. — Alexis Papazoglou, The New Republic, "Facebook Is a New Form of Power," 22 July 2019 In a demonstration, Kokko showed a heat map on his laptop that highlights sentiment about sectors of the U.S. economy over time. — Fortune, "Investors Seek an Edge By Using Technology That Reads Between the Lines," 21 July 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

In September, quad witching coincided with major changes to several popular ETFs pegged to sector indexes. — Asjylyn Loder, WSJ, "Traders Prep for ‘Quad Witching’ Amid Market Gains," 21 June 2019 Banks were among the biggest decliners in the U.S., pulling the S&P 500’s financials sector down 3.4%. — Michael Wursthorn, WSJ, "Stocks Tumble on Italy’s Political Instability," 29 May 2018 Construction lost 4,400 jobs, and the trade, transportation and utilities sector lost 1,900 jobs. — Andrew Khouri, latimes.com, "California loses jobs in March, though unemployment stays at a record low," 20 Apr. 2018 Over the last five years, total shareholder return at Convergys has lagged the business services sector 7.9 percent to 15.7 percent, according to Morningstar. — Alexander Coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "Convergys head, region's only female CEO of public company departing," 26 Jan. 2018 Investors need to give the over-the-counter drugs sector a thorough health check. — Stephen Wilmot, WSJ, "Drugstore Favorites May Be Catching the Common Consumer Cold," 16 Oct. 2017 The chances of this deal going through seem high, because as of right now, the allegations are sectored off onto a specific person, not Adidas as an entity. — Hunter Cooke, ajc, "Contract between Kansas and Adidas could be in jeopardy following scandal," 28 Sep. 2017 And, regardless of which sectors the new jobs are in, the structural shifts in the economy haven’t prevented over-all wages from rising lately, as employers have been forced to compete for workers—a very welcome development. — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, "Obama’s Economic Record: An Assessment," 9 Jan. 2017

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