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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)

precinct Synonyms

precinct

n.

limit, confine, boundary; see area 2.

precinct Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • priory: They first settled on a narrow strip of land within the precincts of the present Priory.
  • court: When the captive Prince entered the precincts of the court, " Where is the Caliph?

Converse of object

  • pedestrianize: The new minimalist pedestrianized precinct in the style labeled the " Festival of Britain " was copied throughout Europe.
  • enter: Tram 904 enters the city precinct through the archway in the city wall.
  • leave: Before leaving the palace precincts, have a look at the strange little building known as ' Queen Mary's Bath ' .

Adjective modifier

  • pedestrian: The Save Lewes campaign was launched on 7 January 2006 in the pedestrian precinct, at our table in the Farmers ' Market.
  • monastic: This site offered the monks greater scope for the laying out of a monastic precinct on a large scale.
  • sacred: They must not tread the sacred precincts of the Garry lines.
  • indoor: Off the central mall in an indoor precinct, shopping is on three levels.
  • main: We believe we have found the main temple precinct just northwest of the theater, across a street dividing the two.
  • modern: Today, there is now the unusual spectacle of a modern glass precinct rising out above early 20th century walls!

Modifies a noun

  • commander: Crime rates for each police precinct were published weekly, holding precinct commanders to account.
  • wall: The road follows the precinct wall down to the harbor.
  • library: Accessible Workstations There are accessible workstations with height adjustable desks in the Main Library, the Joule Library and the Precinct Library.

Noun used with modifier

  • abbey: The whole of College Green lay within the abbey precinct originally.
  • shopping: The yard is now a shopping precinct with the mill in the center.
  • priory: These all lie within the large oval outline which represents the priory precinct.
  • temple: We believe we have found the main temple precinct just northwest of the theater, across a street dividing the two.
  • cathedral: Creating a sort of cathedral precinct around it would be brilliant.
  • pedestrian: Causeway Head is a pleasant pedestrian precinct located close to the center of Penzance.