section

noun

• 1any of the more or less distinct parts into which something is or may be divided or from which it is made up:arrange orange sections on a platter
• a relatively distinct part of a book, newspaper, statute, or other document.
• a measure of land, equal to one square mile.
• a particular district of a town.

• 2a distinct group within a larger body of people or things:the children’s section of the library
• a group of players of a family of instruments within an orchestra:the brass section
• a small class of students who are part of a larger course but are taught separately:graduate students lead discussion sections for professors' lecture courses
• [in names] a specified military unit:a camouflage section was added to the army
• a subdivision of an army platoon.
• Biology a secondary taxonomic category, especially a subgenus.

• 3the cutting of a solid by or along a plane.
• the shape resulting from cutting a solid along a plane.
• a representation of the internal structure of something as if it has been cut through vertically or horizontally.
• Surgery a separation by cutting.
• Biology a thin slice of plant or animal tissue prepared for microscopic examination.

verb

• divide into sections:she began to section the grapefruit
• (section something off) separate an area from a larger one:parts of the curved balcony had been sectioned off with wrought-iron grilles
• Biology cut (animal or plant tissue) into thin slices for microscopic examination.
• Surgery divide by cutting:it is common veterinary practice to section the nerves to the hoof of a limping horse