territory
noun
Simple meaning
An area of land that belongs to or is controlled by a person, group or country.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tehrihtawreeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtɛɹɪtɔɹi
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
canada
One of three of Canada's federal entities, located in the country's Arctic, with fewer powers than a province and created by an act of Parliament rather than by the Constitution: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
A geographic area under control of a single governing entity such as state or municipality; an area whose borders are determined by the scope of political power rather than solely by natural features such as rivers and ridges.
A large extent or tract of land; for example a region, country or district.
A geographic area that a person or organization is responsible for in the course of work.
Australia
One of three of Australia's federal entities, located in the country's north and southeast, with fewer powers than a state and created by an act of Parliament rather than by the Constitution: Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory.
A location or logical space which someone owns or controls.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: One of three of Canada's federal entities, located in the country's Arctic, with fewer powers than a province and created by an act of Parliament rather than by the Constitution: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
Used this way, territory is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in government or politics contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Government/politics
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use territory
- “His questions covered a lot of territory.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Related to a region marked off for administrative or other purposes.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The area in which an animal normally ranges.
A territory in north central Australia.
A dependent country.
A territory in northwestern Canada.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: one of three of Canada's federal entities
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