Definition of "department" in English

noun

1. A part, portion, or subdivision.

2. A distinct course of life, action, study, or the like.

   • Technical things are not his department; he's a people person.

3. A specified aspect or quality.

   • The 2012 Boston Marathon was outstanding in the temperature department; runners endured temperatures of no less than 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. A subdivision of an organization.

5. 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.

6. (historical) A military subdivision of a country

   • the Department of the Potomac

7. (obsolete) Act of departing; departure.