township

noun

town·​ship ˈtau̇n-ˌship 

1

a

: town sense 5

b

: a unit of local government in some northeastern and north central states usually having a chief administrative officer or board

c

: an unorganized subdivision of the county in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont

d

: an electoral and administrative district of the county in the southern U.S.

2

: a division of territory in surveys of U.S. public land containing 36 sections or 36 square miles

3

: an area in the Republic of South Africa that was segregated under apartheid for occupation by persons of non-European descent

4

: an ancient unit of administration in England identical in area with or a division of a parish

Examples of township in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Two-thirds of Megaworld’s 36 townships are located in areas outside of Metro Manila that are tourist attractions such as Bacolod, Boracay, Cebu and Ilocos. —Ian Sayson, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025

According to the Cook County Assessor’s Office, the 2024 median sale price for single-family homes in New Trier township, which includes Wilmette, was $1.3 million. —Jennifer Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 23 June 2025

An advertisement was placed in our local paper, which led to something of a minor frenzy among the children of our small Canadian township. —Hazlitt, 18 June 2025

The township also acknowledged the officer’s death in a Tuesday morning Facebook post. —David Chiu, People.com, 3 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Kids Definition

township

noun

town·​ship ˈtau̇n-ˌship 

1

: a unit of local government in some northeastern and north central states

2

: a division of territory in surveys of U.S. public land containing 36 square miles (about 93 square kilometers)