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precinct definition

pre·cinct (prē′siŋkt)

noun

    1. an enclosure between buildings, walls, etc.
    2. Brit. the grounds immediately surrounding a religious house or church
  2. environs; a neighborhood
  3. ☆
    1. a division of a city, as for police administration
    2. a subdivision of a ward, as for voting purposes
  4. Brit. an area in a town closed to motor traffic, as for shopping
  5. any limited area, as of thought
  6. a boundary

Etymology: ME precincte < ML praecinctum < L praecinctus, pp. of praecingere, to encompass < prae-, before (see pre-) + cingere, to surround, gird (see cinch)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

precinct Synonyms

precinct

n.

limit, confine, boundary; see area 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

precinct Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • priory: They first settled on a narrow strip of land within the precincts of the present Priory.

Converse of object

  • pedestrianize: The new minimalist pedestrianized precinct in the style labeled the " Festival of Britain " was copied throughout Europe.

Adjective modifier

  • pedestrian: The Save Lewes campaign was launched on 7 January 2006 in the pedestrian precinct, at our table in the Farmers ' Market.

Modifies a noun

  • commander: Crime rates for each police precinct were published weekly, holding precinct commanders to account.

Noun used with modifier

  • abbey: The whole of College Green lay within the abbey precinct originally.
precinct usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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MLA Style

"precinct." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/precinct>

APA Style

precinct. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/precinct

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