gerrymandering

noun

ger·​ry·​man·​der·​ing ˈjer-ē-ˌman-d(ə-)riŋ 

 also  ˈger-;

 originally  ˈger-

: the practice of dividing or arranging a territorial unit into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage in elections

To an untrained eye, the proposed boundaries look like the etchings of a mapmaker on heavy pharmaceuticals. In reality, it's a masterpiece of diabolical gerrymandering.

—Carl Hiaasen

Bipartisan gerrymandering following the 2000 reapportionment produced hundreds of safe Democratic seats, hundreds of safe Republican seats, and not much else.

—Peter Beinart

compare cracking, packing

Examples of gerrymandering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that claims of partisan gerrymandering are not subject to scrutiny in a court of law. —Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Apr. 2025

County Judge Tim O’Hare selected the law firm, which previously defended Galveston County commissioners in federal court after 2021 redistricting was challenged as racial gerrymandering. —Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Apr. 2025

As lawmakers in Wisconsin and Illinois have demonstrated, partisan gerrymandering is a bipartisan pursuit when the party in power has carte blanche to pick its own voters. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025

But Republican gerrymandering heavily favors the GOP in the U.S. House, where the state’s delegation was evenly divided in the last Congress — seven Republicans and seven Democrats — but now leans heavily towards Republicans, 10 to four, under the new map. —Mike Lillis, The Hill, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

gerrymander entry 2 + -ing entry 1

First Known Use

1812, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gerrymandering

• meandering
• philandering
• pandering
• slandering