COUNTY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does county mean? 

• COUNTY (noun)
  The noun COUNTY has 2 senses:

1. (United Kingdom) a region created by territorial division for the purpose of local government

2. (United States) the largest administrative district within a state

  Familiarity information: COUNTY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COUNTY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(United Kingdom) a region created by territorial division for the purpose of local government

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Context example:

the county has a population of 12,345 people

Hypernyms ("county" is a kind of...):

part; region (the extended spatial location of something)

Meronyms (parts of "county"):

county courthouse; county seat (the town or city that is the seat of government for a county)

Domain region:

Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "county"):

Isle of Wight; Wight (an isle and county of southern England in the English Channel)

Instance hyponyms:

East Sussex (a county in southern England on the English Channel)

Sussex (a county in southern England on the English Channel; formerly an Anglo-Saxon kingdom that was captured by Wessex in the 9th century)

Northamptonshire (a county is central England)

South Yorkshire; West Yorkshire (a metropolitan county in northern England)

North Yorkshire (a county in northern England)

Surrey (a county in southeastern England on the Thames)

Northumberland (the northernmost county of England; has many Roman remains (including Hadrian's Wall))

Lincolnshire (an agricultural county of eastern England on the North Sea)

Leicester; Leicestershire (a largely agricultural county in central England)

West Sussex (a county in southern England on the English Channel)

Home Counties (the English counties surrounding London into which Greater London has expanded)

Somerset (a county in southwestern England on the Bristol Channel)

Kent (a county in southeastern England on the English Channel; formerly an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, it was the first to be colonized by the Romans)

Hertfordshire (a county in southern England)

Hampshire (a county of southern England on the English Channel)

Gloucestershire (a county in southwestern England in the lower Severn valley)

Essex (a county in southeastern England on the North Sea and the Thames estuary)

Devon; Devonshire (a county in southwestern England)

Cumbria (a county of northwestern England)

Cornwall (a hilly county in southwestern England)

Berkshire (a county in southern England)

Avon (a county in southwestern England)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(United States) the largest administrative district within a state

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Context example:

the county plans to build a new road

Hypernyms ("county" is a kind of...):

administrative district; administrative division; territorial division (a district defined for administrative purposes)

Domain region:

America; the States; U.S.; U.S.A.; United States; United States of America; US; USA (North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776)

 Context examples 

We have touched on three English counties in our short drive, starting in Middlesex, passing over an angle of Surrey, and ending in Kent. See that light among the trees?

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

‘What, be driven out of our own house by a practical joker?’ said I. ‘Why, we should have the whole county laughing at us.’

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Is Suffolk your county, sir?” asked William.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The land itself ceased at the county road.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Sir George Lynn, Colonel Dent, and Mr. Eshton discussed politics, or county affairs, or justice business.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

We know roughly that this plateau is not larger than an average English county.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We knew your father well, and would fain help his son, though we have small cause to love your brother the Socman, who is forever stirring up strife in the county.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Are you the magistrate of a county, sir?

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The groups can differ by location (for example, city, county, or country).

(Ecologic study, NCI Dictionary)

At my suggestion a couple of the county police were summoned to be present, and I then endeavoured to raise the stone by pulling on the cravat.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)