noun
Meaning 1
A part, portion, or subdivision.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
department
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
-
Received-Pronunciation: /dɪˈpɑːtm(ə)nt/
-
Canada, General-American: /dɪˈpɑɹtmənt/
-
California: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
Australian: /dɪˈpɐːtm(ə)nt/
-
New-Zealand: /dəˈpɐːtm(ə)nt/
-
CMU ARPABET: D IH0 P AA1 R T M AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A distinct course of life, action, study, or the like.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- Technical things are not his department; he's a people person.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A specified aspect or quality.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- The 2012 Boston Marathon was outstanding in the temperature department; runners endured temperatures of no less than 88 degrees Fahrenheit.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
A subdivision of an organization.
One of the principal divisions of executive government
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: often in proper names
Examples
- the Treasury Department; the Department of Agriculture; police department
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
A subdivision of an organization.
One of the divisions of instructions
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- the physics department; the history department; the math department
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
A territorial division; a district; especially, in France, one of the districts into which the country is divided for governmental purposes, similar to a county in the UK and in the USA. France is composed of 101 départements organized in 18 régions, each department is divided into arrondissements, in turn divided into cantons.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
A military subdivision of a country
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
Examples
- the Department of the Potomac
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 8
Act of departing; departure.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 9
a specialized sphere of knowledge
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- baking is not my department
- his work established a new department of literature
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: sector, sphere
noun
Meaning 10
a specialized division of a large organization
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- you'll find it in the hardware department
- she got a job in the historical section of the Treasury
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: section
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: division
Narrower terms: academic department, business department, personnel department, personnel office, personnel, staff office, government department, payroll, payroll department, security, security department
noun
Meaning 11
the territorial and administrative division of some countries (such as France)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: administrative district, administrative division, territorial division
History
Etymology
From Middle English departement (“ceasing, end”), from Middle French département. Later senses borrowed from Modern French département. Doublet of département.
Across languages
Translations
184 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Afrikaans: departement — part, portion, subdivision
- Afrikaans: afdeling — part, portion, subdivision
- Antigua and Barbuda Creole English: kuura — part, portion, subdivision
- Arabic: قِسْم (qism) — part, portion, subdivision
- Bashkir: бүлек (bülek) — part, portion, subdivision
- Bulgarian: отде́л (otdél) — part, portion, subdivision
- Bulgarian: отделе́ние (otdelénie) — part, portion, subdivision
- Danish: afdeling — part, portion, subdivision
- Dutch: afdeling — part, portion, subdivision
- Esperanto: fako — part, portion, subdivision
- Finnish: osasto — part, portion, subdivision
- Finnish: jaosto — part, portion, subdivision
- Hindi: विभाग (vibhāg) — part, portion, subdivision
- Hindi: अनुभाग (anubhāg) — part, portion, subdivision
- Malayalam: വിഭാഗം (vibhāgaṁ) — part, portion, subdivision
- Dari: قِسْمَت (qismat) — part, portion, subdivision
- Iranian Persian: قِسْمَت (ġesmat) — part, portion, subdivision
- Polish: dział — part, portion, subdivision
- Polish: wydział — part, portion, subdivision
- Portuguese: departamento — part, portion, subdivision
- Romanian: sector — part, portion, subdivision
- Romanian: departament — part, portion, subdivision
- Romansh: departament — part, portion, subdivision
- Russian: отде́л (otdél) — part, portion, subdivision
- Russian: отделе́ние (otdelénije) — part, portion, subdivision
- Spanish: sección — part, portion, subdivision
- Swedish: avdelning — part, portion, subdivision
- Tagalog: kagawaran — part, portion, subdivision
- Tajik: қисмат (qismat) — part, portion, subdivision
- Welsh: adran — part, portion, subdivision
- Danish: felt — course of life, action, study, etc.
- Danish: område — course of life, action, study, etc.
- Esperanto: fako — course of life, action, study, etc.
- Finnish: ala — course of life, action, study, etc.
- Hindi: विभाग (vibhāg) — course of life, action, study, etc.
- Hindi: शाखा (śākhā) — course of life, action, study, etc.
- Malayalam: വകുപ്പ് (vakuppŭ) — course of life, action, study, etc.
- Afrikaans: departement — subdivision of organization
- Afrikaans: afdeling — subdivision of organization
- Albanian: departament — subdivision of organization
- Arabic: قِسْم (qism) — subdivision of organization
- Armenian: բաժին (bažin) — subdivision of organization
- Armenian: ֆակուլտետ (fakultet) — subdivision of organization
- Azerbaijani: şöbə — subdivision of organization
- Bashkir: бүлек (bülek) — subdivision of organization
- Belarusian: аддзе́л (addzjél) — subdivision of organization
- Belarusian: дэпарта́мент (departámjent) — subdivision of organization
- Bengali: বিভাগ (bibhag) — subdivision of organization
- Bulgarian: отде́л (otdél) — subdivision of organization
- Bulgarian: отделе́ние (otdelénie) — subdivision of organization
- Burmese: ဌာန (htana.) — subdivision of organization
- Chinese Cantonese: 部門 /部门 (bou6 mun4) — subdivision of organization
- Chinese Cantonese: 部 (bou6) — subdivision of organization
- Chinese Cantonese: 系 (hai6) — subdivision of organization
- Chinese Mandarin: 部門 /部门 (bùmén) — subdivision of organization
- Chinese Mandarin: 部 (bù) — subdivision of organization
- Chinese Mandarin: 系 (xì) — subdivision of organization
- Czech: oddělení — subdivision of organization
- Danish: departement — subdivision of organization
- Danish: ministerium — subdivision of organization
- Danish: institut — subdivision of organization
- Danish: fagområde — subdivision of organization
- Dutch: afdeling — subdivision of organization
- Dutch: departement — subdivision of organization
- Esperanto: fako — subdivision of organization
- Estonian: osakond — subdivision of organization
- Finnish: ministeriö — subdivision of organization
- Finnish: osasto — subdivision of organization
- Finnish: yksikkö — subdivision of organization
- Finnish: laitos — subdivision of organization
- French: ministère — subdivision of organization
- Georgian: განყოფილება (ganq̇opileba) — subdivision of organization
- Georgian: დეპარტამენტი (deṗarṭamenṭi) — subdivision of organization
- German: Abteilung — subdivision of organization
- German: Institut — subdivision of organization
- German: Lehrstuhl — subdivision of organization
- Greek: τμήμα (tmíma) — subdivision of organization
- Greek: διεύθυνση (diéfthynsi) — subdivision of organization
- Greek: κλάδος (kládos) — subdivision of organization
- Greek: υπηρεσία (ypiresía) — subdivision of organization
- Haitian Creole: depatman — subdivision of organization
- Hebrew: מַחְלָקָה (makhlaká) — subdivision of organization
- Hindi: विभाग (vibhāg) — subdivision of organization
- Hindi: अनुभाग (anubhāg) — subdivision of organization
- Hungarian: osztály — subdivision of organization
- Hungarian: részleg — subdivision of organization
- Hungarian: szakosztály — subdivision of organization
- Hungarian: minisztérium — subdivision of organization
- Hungarian: tanszék — subdivision of organization
- Indonesian: departemen — subdivision of organization
- Italian: dipartimento — subdivision of organization
- Italian: facoltà — subdivision of organization
- Italian: reparto — subdivision of organization
- Japanese: 局 (kyoku) — subdivision of organization
- Japanese: 部門 (bumon) — subdivision of organization
- Japanese: 学部 (gakubu) — subdivision of organization
- Kazakh: бөлім (bölım) — subdivision of organization
- Khmer: ការិយាល័យ (kaariyaalay) — subdivision of organization
- Korean: 부서 (buseo) — subdivision of organization
- Korean: 학과 (hakgwa) — subdivision of organization
- Kyrgyz: бөлүм (bölüm) — subdivision of organization
- Lao: ພະແນກ (pha nǣk) — subdivision of organization
- Lao: ພາກວິຊາ (phāk wi sā) — subdivision of organization
- Latvian: nodaļa — subdivision of organization
- Latvian: daļa — subdivision of organization
- Lithuanian: skyrius — subdivision of organization
- Macedonian: оддел (oddel) — subdivision of organization
- Macedonian: одделение (oddelenie) — subdivision of organization
- Malayalam: വകുപ്പ് (vakuppŭ) — subdivision of organization
- Mòcheno: omt — subdivision of organization
- Mongolian: хэлтэс (xeltes) — subdivision of organization
- Norwegian Bokmål: departement — subdivision of organization
- Norwegian Bokmål: institutt — subdivision of organization
- Norwegian Nynorsk: departement — subdivision of organization
- Norwegian Nynorsk: institutt — subdivision of organization
- Dari: بَخْش (baxš) — subdivision of organization
- Dari: شُعْبَه (šu'ba) — subdivision of organization
- Iranian Persian: بَخْش (baxš) — subdivision of organization
- Iranian Persian: شُعْبِه (šo'be) — subdivision of organization
- Polish: dział — subdivision of organization
- Polish: departament — subdivision of organization
- Polish: oddział — subdivision of organization
- Polish: agenda — subdivision of organization
- Portuguese: departamento — subdivision of organization
- Portuguese: setor — subdivision of organization
- Romanian: departament — subdivision of organization
- Romansh: departament — subdivision of organization
- Russian: отде́л (otdél) — subdivision of organization
- Russian: департа́мент (departáment) — subdivision of organization
- Russian: министе́рство (ministérstvo) — subdivision of organization
- Russian: факульте́т (fakulʹtét) — subdivision of organization
- Russian: отделе́ние (otdelénije) — subdivision of organization
- Serbo-Croatian: одеље́ње — subdivision of organization
- Serbo-Croatian: одјеље́ње — subdivision of organization
- Serbo-Croatian: odeljénje — subdivision of organization
- Serbo-Croatian: odjeljénje — subdivision of organization
- Slovak: oddelenie — subdivision of organization
- Slovene: oddelek — subdivision of organization
- Slovene: katedra — subdivision of organization
- Spanish: departamento — subdivision of organization
- Tagalog: kagawaran — subdivision of organization
- Tajik: шӯъба (šü'ba) — subdivision of organization
- Tajik: бахш (baxš) — subdivision of organization
- Tamil: துறை (tuṟai) — subdivision of organization
- Tatar: бүлек (bülek) — subdivision of organization
- Thai: แผนก (pà-nɛ̀ɛk) — subdivision of organization
- Thai: ภาควิชา (pâak-wí-chaa) — subdivision of organization
- Turkish: bölüm — subdivision of organization
- Turkish: şube — subdivision of organization
- Turkish: departman — subdivision of organization
- Turkmen: bölüm — subdivision of organization
- Ukrainian: відді́л (viddíl) — subdivision of organization
- Ukrainian: департа́мент (departáment) — subdivision of organization
- Urdu: مَحْکَمَہ (mahkama) — subdivision of organization
- Urdu: شُعْبَہ (śu'ba) — subdivision of organization
- Uyghur: تارماق (tarmaq) — subdivision of organization
- Uzbek: boʻlim — subdivision of organization
- Uzbek: shuʼba — subdivision of organization
- Vietnamese: ban — subdivision of organization
- Vietnamese: phòng — subdivision of organization
- Welsh: adran — subdivision of organization
- Breton: departamant — territorial division
- Bulgarian: департаме́нт (departamént) — territorial division
- Corsican: dipartimentu — territorial division
- Danish: departement — territorial division
- Esperanto: departemento — territorial division
- Finnish: departementti — territorial division
- Finnish: maakunta — territorial division
- French: département — territorial division
- West-Frisian: departemint — territorial division
- Greek: περιφέρεια (periféreia) — territorial division
- Greek: περιοχή (periochí) — territorial division
- Italian: dipartimento — territorial division
- Japanese: 県 (ken) — territorial division
- Norwegian Bokmål: departement — territorial division
- Norwegian Nynorsk: departement — territorial division
- Picard: départémint — territorial division
- Portuguese: departamento — territorial division
- Romanian: departament — territorial division
- Romansh: departament — territorial division
- Russian: департа́мент (departáment) — territorial division
- Sardinian: dipartimentu — territorial division
- Spanish: departamento — territorial division
- Vietnamese: tỉnh — territorial division
Real reading context