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department

Syllabification: (de·part·ment)
Pronunciation: /diˈpärtmənt/

Translate department | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of department

noun

  • a division of a large organization such as a government, university, business, or shop, dealing with a specific subject, commodity, or area of activity:the English department
  • an administrative district in France and other countries.
  • (one's department) informal an area of special expertise or responsibility:that’s not my department
  • [with modifier] informal a specified aspect or quality:I never thought of myself as above average in the looks department

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French departement, from departir (see depart). The original sense was 'division or distribution', later 'separation', hence 'a separate part' (core sense, mid 18th century)

department in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of department in the British & World English dictionary

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