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

Bohart said the township is monitoring the situation and waiting for test results. —Matthew Cupelli, Cincinnati Enquirer, 5 Dec. 2025

His father, a former police officer, saw the aftermath of the wreck and called 911, but there was no immediate service available in the township. —Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025

An arbitrator ruled that the reasons for the workers' dismissal were illegitimate and essentially told the township to reinstate the original crew. —Ross Guidotti, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025

Whatever the township, the Springfield department arrived to find a barn more than half engulfed with flames through the roof, Strickland said. —Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 2 Dec. 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)