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

Built in 1920, the storied property in the unincorporated township of Bolinas, a notoriously insular beach town about 30 miles north of San Francisco, is the former abode of Grace Slick, lead singer of Jefferson Airplane. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 7 May 2024

The site where the bodies were discovered near the township of Santo Tomás was near the remote seaside area where the missing men's tents and truck were found Thursday along the coast. —Bradford Betz, Fox News, 6 May 2024

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)