zoning

noun

zon·​ing ˈzō-niŋ 

: the act or process of partitioning a city, town, or borough into zones reserved for different purposes (such as residence or business)

also : the set of ordinances by which such zones are established and regulated

voted to change the town's zoning

zoning laws

Examples of zoning in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The committee sparked a suite of bills aimed at juicing the supply side of Idaho’s housing market — a deregulatory approach targeting zoning laws that has lately found rare bipartisan support at the Capitol, if not in city halls across the state. —Mark Dee march 28, Idaho Statesman, 28 Mar. 2026

The federal government is exempt from local zoning laws. —Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 28 Mar. 2026

The San Diego region as a whole was assigned more than 170,000 new housing units that have to be accounted for in local zoning plans, known as housing elements, for the sixth-cycle RHNA. —Luke Harold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2026

The law allows developers to bypass certain height and zoning requirements if at least 40% of the residential units qualify as affordable housing. —Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1912, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for zoning

• boning
• cloning
• coning
• droning
• groaning
• honing
• loaning
• moaning
• owning
• phoning
• stoning
• toning

Legal Definition

zoning

noun

zon·​ing

: municipal or county regulation of land use effected through the creation and enforcement of zones under local law