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

All evacuation orders were lifted for the about 5,000 residents who fled the fire in Ocean and Lacey townships, the fire service said on April 23. —Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025

What To Know The 45-year-old American citizen from Tennessee had been conducting a service on April 10 at the Fellowship Baptist Church in the Eastern Cape township of Motherwell when the building was stormed by four armed and masked men who abducted him. —Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025

That dedication led to the planting of Fellowship Baptist Church in the township of Motherwell—a community that has become home to their hearts. —Audrey Conklin, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2025

In Singu township, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of Mandalay, 27 gold miners were killed in a cave-in, the independent Democratic Voice of Burma reported. —David Rising, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 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)