a distinct part or subdivision of anything, as an object, country, community, class, or the like: the poor section of town; the left section of a drawer.
3.
a distinct part or subdivision of a writing, as of a newspaper, legal code, chapter, etc.: the financial section of a daily paper; section 2 of the bylaws.
4.
one of a number of parts that can be fitted together to make a whole: sections of a fishing rod.
5.
(in most of the U.S. west of Ohio) one of the 36 numbered subdivisions, each one square mile (2.59 sq. km or 640 acres), of a township.
6.
an act or instance of cutting; separation by cutting.
7.
Surgery.
a.
the making of an incision.
b.
an incision.
8.
a thin slice of a tissue, mineral, or the like, as for microscopic examination.
9.
a representation of an object as it would appear if cut by a plane, showing its internal structure.
10.
Military.
a.
a small unit consisting of two or more squads.
b.
Also called staff section.any of the subdivisions of a staff.
c.
a small tactical division in naval and air units.
11.
Railroads.
a.
a division of a sleeping car containing both an upper and a lower berth.
b.
a length of trackage, roadbed, signal equipment, etc., maintained by one crew.
12.
any of two or more trains, buses, or the like, running on the same route and schedule at the same time, one right behind the other, and considered as one unit, as when a second is necessary to accommodate more passengers than the first can carry: On holidays the New York to Boston train runs in three sections.
13.
a segment of a naturally segmented fruit, as of an orange or grapefruit.
14.
a division of an orchestra or band containing all the instruments of one class: a rhythm section.
A distinct portion of a newspaper: the sports section.
A distinct area of a town, county, or country: a residential section.
A land unit equal to one square mile (2.59 square kilometers), 640 acres, or 1/36 of a township.
The act or process of separating or cutting, especially the surgical cutting or dividing of tissue.
A thin slice, as of tissue, suitable for microscopic examination.
A segment of a fruit, especially a citrus fruit.
Representation of a solid object as it would appear if cut by an intersecting plane, so that the internal structure is displayed.
Music A group of instruments or voices in the same class considered as a division of a band, orchestra, or choir: the rhythm section; the woodwind section.
A class or discussion group of students taking the same course: She taught three sections of English composition.
A portion of railroad track maintained by a single crew.
An area in a train's sleeping car containing an upper and lower berth.
The character (§) used in printing to mark the beginning of a section.
This character used as the fourth in a series of reference marks for footnotes.
An army tactical unit smaller than a platoon and larger than a squad.
A unit of vessels or aircraft within a division of armed forces.
One of two or more vehicles, such as a bus or train, given the same route and schedule, often used to carry extra passengers.
The character (§) used in printing to mark the beginning of a section.
This character used as the fourth in a series of reference marks for footnotes.
tr.v.
sec·tioned, sec·tion·ing, sec·tions
To separate or divide into parts.
To cut or divide (tissue) surgically.
To shade or crosshatch (part of a drawing) to indicate sections.
[Middle English seccioun, from Old French, from Latin sectiō, sectiōn-, from sectus, past participle of secāre, to cut; see sek- in Indo-European roots.]
1559, from M.Fr. section, from L. sectionem (nom. sectio) "a cutting, cutting off, division," from sectus, pp. of secare "to cut," from PIE base *sek- "cut" (cf. O.C.S. seko, sesti "to cut," secivo "ax, hatchet;" Lith. isekti "to engrave, carve;" Alb. sate "mattock;" O.S. segasna, O.E. sigðe "scythe;" O.E. secg "sword," seax "knife, short sword;" O.Ir. doescim "I cut;" L. saxum "rock, stone"). Sectional "piece of furniture composed of sections which can be used separately" is recorded from 1961.
a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical); "he always turns first to the business section"; "the history of this work is discussed in the next section"
2.
a very thin slice (of tissue or mineral or other substance) for examination under a microscope; "sections from the left ventricle showed diseased tissue"
3.
a distinct region or subdivision of a territorial or political area or community or group of people; "no section of the nation is more ardent than the South"; "there are three synagogues in the Jewish section"
4.
one of several parts or pieces that fit with others to constitute a whole object; "a section of a fishing rod"; "metal sections were used below ground"; "finished the final segment of the road"
5.
a small team of policemen working as part of a police platoon
6.
one of the portions into which something is regarded as divided and which together constitute a whole; "the written part of the exam"; "the finance section of the company"; "the BBC's engineering division" [syn: part]
7.
a land unit equal to 1 square mile
8.
(geometry) the area created by a plane cutting through a solid
9.
a small class of students who are part of a larger course but are taught separately; "a graduate student taught sections for the professor's lecture course"
10.
a division of an orchestra containing all instruments of the same class
11.
a small army unit usually having a special function
12.
a specialized division of a large organization; "you'll find it in the hardware department"; "she got a job in the historical section of the Treasury" [syn: department]
13.
a segment of a citrus fruit; "he ate a section of the orange"
14.
the cutting of or into body tissues or organs (especially by a surgeon as part of an operation) [syn: incision]
verb
1.
divide into segments; "segment an orange"; "segment a compound word" [syn: segment]
a part or division Example: He divided the orange into sections; There is disagreement in one section of the community; the accounts section of the business
Arabic:
قِسْم
Chinese (Simplified):
部分
Chinese (Traditional):
部分
Czech:
část, díl, vrstva
Danish:
del; -del
Dutch:
deel, afdeling
Estonian:
lõik, osakond
Finnish:
lohko, osa, osasto
French:
section
German:
der Teil
Greek:
τμήμα, κομμάτι, υποδιαίρεση
Hungarian:
szelet; szakasz; rész(leg); szekció
Icelandic:
hluti; hópur; deild
Indonesian:
bagian
Italian:
parte; sezione
Japanese:
部分
Korean:
조각, 파
Latvian:
daļa
Lithuanian:
dalis
Norwegian:
del; appelsinbåt; avdeling
Polish:
kawałek, segment, dział
Portuguese (Brazil):
seção
Portuguese (Portugal):
secção
Romanian:
secţiune; secţie
Russian:
часть; секция
Slovak:
časť
Slovenian:
del
Spanish:
sección
Swedish:
del, klyfta, avdelning, sektion
Turkish:
bölüm
section2[ˈsekʃən]noun
a view of the inside of anything when, or as if, it is cut right through or across Example: a section of the stem of a flower
Chevy Chase Section Five, MD (village, FIPS 16720) Location: 38.98295 N, 77.07509 W Population (1990): 632 (228 housing units) Area: 0.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Chevy Chase Section Three, MD (village, FIPS 16730) Location: 38.96945 N, 77.07927 W Population (1990): 2078 (715 housing units) Area: 1.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Section, AL (town, FIPS 69000) Location: 34.58100 N, 85.98382 W Population (1990): 777 (335 housing units) Area: 11.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 35771
Indian Hills Cherokee Section, KY (city, FIPS 39358) Location: 38.27791 N, 85.65157 W Population (1990): 1005 (373 housing units) Area: 0.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Dis*sect"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dissected; p. pr. & vb. n. Dissecting.] [L. dissectus, p. p. of dissecare; dis- + secare to cut. See Section.]1. (Anat.) To divide into separate parts; to cut in pieces; to separate and expose the parts of, as an animal or a plant, for examination and to show their structure and relations; to anatomize. 2. To analyze, for the purposes of science or criticism; to divide and examine minutely. This paragraph . . . I have dissected for a sample. --Atterbury.