segment

noun seg·ment \ ˈseg-mənt \

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: segment in a Sentence

Definition of segment

1 : a portion cut off from a geometric figure by one or more points, lines, or planes: such as

a : the area of a circle bounded by a chord and an arc of that circle

b : the part of a sphere cut off by a plane or included between two parallel planes

c : the finite part of a line between two points in the line

2 a : a separate piece of something : bit, fragment

chop the stalks into short segments

b : one of the constituent parts into which a body, entity, or quantity is divided or marked off by or as if by natural boundaries

all segments of the population agree

—

segmentary

play \ˈseg-mən-ˌter-ē\ adjective

See segment defined for English-language learners

See segment defined for kids

Examples of segment in a Sentence

The railroad track is divided into segments.
I think I lost one segment of this model kit.

Recent Examples of segment from the Web

Honeywell has seen strong growth in several of its segments recently, particularly its largest aerospace unit, where net sales rose 12% to almost $4 billion in the most recent quarter.

— erica e. phillips, WSJ, "Logistics Movers: Honeywell Names Former SpaceX, Amazon Executive to Run Supply Chain," 9 July 2018
Toyota says the Sienna is the only minivan in its segment to have active braking standard on all models.

— g. chambers williams iii, Houston Chronicle, "Toyota Sienna gets some upgrades for 2018, including new front end," 7 July 2018
On Thursday’s episode of The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon riled up the audience nostalgia by adding the Backstreet Boys to his classroom instruments segment.

— melania hidalgo, PEOPLE.com, "Watch the Backstreet Boys Break Out the Classroom Instruments for 'I Want It That Way' with Jimmy Fallon," 29 June 2018
Eventually, being the preferred channel of cruel trolls is an untenable state of affairs for a business, no matter how much the core audience loves it or how often the president promotes his favorite segments.

— jay willis, GQ, "Fox News CEO Asks That On-Air Talent Be Slightly Less Racist Monsters," 28 June 2018
In the next segment, Boulton delivered another exclusive.

— cam simpson, Bloomberg.com, "Brexit’s Big Short: How Pollsters Helped Hedge Funds Beat the Crash," 25 June 2018
Shepard Smith will host the Fox program on weekday afternoons, and Jorge Ramos will travel the country and profile immigration issues on his weekly segment.

— erin corbett, Fortune, "Facebook Is Partnering With Media Organizations to Launch Original News Programs," 6 June 2018
The company has compensated for those losses with tremendous growth in its highly profitable data center segment and with strong growth in smaller businesses, including memory chips and programmable chips.

— mike rogoway, OregonLive.com, "Intel ousts its chief marketing officer," 13 May 2018
Among the newest works being unveiled this year are the public art works in the first segment of San Pedro Creek Culture Park.

— deborah martin, San Antonio Express-News, "More public art projects planned as San Antonio marks its 300th birthday," 3 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of segment

Latin segmentum, from secare to cut — more at saw

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First Known Use: 1570

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

segment Synonyms

Synonyms

member, part, partition, portion, section;

Near Antonyms

whole;

aggregate, composite, compound, sum, total, totality;

bit, fragment, particle, scrap;

Synonym Discussion of segment

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

segment

verb seg·ment \ ˈseg-ˌment \

Definition of segment

segmented; segmenting; segments

transitive verb

: to separate into segments : give off as segments

See segment defined for English-language learners

Examples of segment in a Sentence

Market researchers have segmented the population into different age groups.

Recent Examples of segment from the Web

It's been one scripted step forward, a couple of Muslim-bashing Fox News segments back.

— lorraine ali, latimes.com, "'Roseanne': The Conners fear their new Muslim neighbors may be terrorists," 9 May 2018
The second is segmenting the hell out of the business and understanding what drives profitability.

— polina marinova, Fortune, "Term Sheet -- Thursday, June 14," 14 June 2018
But that statistic shifts when segmented by age: 53 percent of 18 to 24 year olds prefer self-checkout compared to 13 percent of those aged 55 and over.

— carolina a. miranda, The Atlantic, "The Unbearable Awkwardness of Automation," 13 June 2018
The carrier also is one of the biggest holdouts of the shift to segmenting passengers, maintaining its policy of not charging for checked bags and largely forgoing assigned seats on its fleet of more than 700 Boeing Co. jets.

— doug cameron, WSJ, "Fare Increases in Focus as Airlines Report This Week," 24 Apr. 2018
The lobby is segmented into spaces for lounging, working and reading.

— pamela dittmer mckuen, chicagotribune.com, "New, luxe Gold Coast apartments go for 'understated elegance'," 20 Sep. 2017
The alcohol industry has long segmented its market by gender and age, targeting young men with inexpensive beers like Coors Lights and Bud Light, and wealthier demographics with premium vodkas and whiskies, along with wine.

— trevor hughes, USA TODAY, "Trading wine for weed? Experts say trend likely to accelerate thanks to legal pot," 26 Apr. 2018
Learn to segment your audience, attract Web traffic, and use analytics to learn more about customers.

— margeaux sippell, BostonGlobe.com, "Weekend business agenda," 26 Apr. 2018
To segment an orange, slice off the bottom and the top of the fruit.

— becky krystal, charlotteobserver, "From zest to juice, this is how to squeeze the most out of your oranges | Charlotte Observer," 24 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of segment

1859

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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SEGMENT Defined for English Language Learners

segment

noun

Definition of segment for English Language Learners

: one of the parts into which something can be divided
geometry : a part of a circle formed by drawing a straight line between two points on the circle
: a part of a straight line between two points