REGION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does region mean? 

• REGION (noun)
  The noun REGION has 5 senses:

1. the extended spatial location of something

2. a part of an animal that has a special function or is supplied by a given artery or nerve

3. a large indefinite location on the surface of the Earth

4. the approximate amount of something (usually used prepositionally as in 'in the region of')

5. a knowledge domain that you are interested in or are communicating about

  Familiarity information: REGION used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REGION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The extended spatial location of something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

part; region

Context example:

regions of outer space

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

location (a point or extent in space)

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

hell; hell on earth; hellhole; inferno; snake pit; the pits (any place of pain and turmoil)

inside; interior (the region that is inside of something)

ionosphere (the outer region of the Earth's atmosphere; contains a high concentration of free electrons)

layer (a relatively thin sheetlike expanse or region lying over or under another)

exterior; outside (the region that is outside of something)

radius (a circular region whose area is indicated by the length of its radius)

side (a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location)

air (the region above the ground)

vacuity; vacuum (a region that is devoid of matter)

top (the upper part of anything)

zodiac (a belt-shaped region in the heavens on either side to the ecliptic; divided into 12 constellations or signs for astrological purposes)

house; mansion; planetary house; sign; sign of the zodiac; star sign ((astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided)

Papua (the southeastern part of Papua New Guinea)

Sind (a region of southeastern Pakistan)

black hole (a region of space resulting from the collapse of a star; extremely high gravitational field)

Edgeworth-Kuiper belt; Kuiper belt (a disk-shaped region of minor planets outside the orbit of Neptune)

mare; maria (a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon)

zone (an area or region distinguished from adjacent parts by a distinctive feature or characteristic)

interstellar space (the space between stars)

interplanetary space (the part of outer space within the solar system)

depths ((plural) the deepest and most remote part)

heliosphere (the region inside the heliopause containing the sun and solar system)

intergalactic space (the space between galaxies)

deep space (any region in space outside the solar system)

aerospace (the atmosphere and outer space considered as a whole)

belt (an elongated region where a specific condition or characteristic is found)

bottom (the lowest part of anything)

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

distance (a distant region)

Eden; heaven; nirvana; paradise; promised land; Shangri-la (any place of complete bliss and delight and peace)

extremity (the outermost or farthest region or point)

biosphere (the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the Earth (or other planet) where living organisms exist)

air; atmosphere (the mass of air surrounding the Earth)

Instance hyponyms:

E layer; E region; Heaviside layer; Kennelly-Heaviside layer (a region of the ionosphere (from 50 to 90 miles up) that reflects radio waves of medium length)

Rand; Reef; Witwatersrand (a rocky region in the southern Transvaal in northeastern South Africa; contains rich gold deposits and coal and manganese)

Cynoscephalae (the fields in Thessaly where in 197 BC the Romans defeated the Macedonians)

Doris (a small region of ancient Greece where the Doric dialect was spoken)

Achaea (a region of ancient Greece on the north coast of the Peloponnese)

D-layer; D region (the lowest region of the ionosphere (35 to 50 miles up) that reflects low-frequency radio waves)

Appleton layer; F layer; F region (the highest region of the ionosphere (from 90 to 600 miles up) which contains the highest concentration of free electrons and is most useful for long-range radio transmission)

Transylvania (a historical plateau region in northwestern Romania that is separated from the rest of the country by the Transylvanian Alps; originally part of Hungary; incorporated into Romania at the end of World War I)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A part of an animal that has a special function or is supplied by a given artery or nerve

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

area; region

Context example:

in the abdominal region

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

body part (any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity)

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

pressure point (an area on the skin that is highly sensitive to pressure)

erogenous zone (any area of the body especially sensitive to sexual stimulation)

quick (any area of the body that is highly sensitive to pain (as the flesh underneath the skin or a fingernail or toenail))

groin; inguen (the crease at the junction of the inner part of the thigh with the trunk together with the adjacent region and often including the external genitals)

half-moon; lunula; lunule (the crescent-shaped area at the base of the human fingernail)

sole (the underside of the foot)

thenar (the fleshy area of the palm at the base of the thumb)

palm; thenar (the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers)

loins; pubes; pubic region (the lower part of the abdomen just above the external genital organs)

waist; waistline (the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips)

middle; midriff; midsection (the middle area of the human torso (usually in front))

areola; ring of color (small circular area such as that around the human nipple or an inflamed area around a pimple or insect bite)

side (either the left or right half of a body)

cleavage (the line formed by a groove between two parts (especially the separation between a woman's breasts))

hypochondrium (the upper region of the abdomen just below the lowest ribs on either side of the epigastrium)

area of cardiac dullness (a triangular area of the front of the chest (determined by percussion); corresponds to the part of the heart not covered by the lungs)

epigastrium (the region lying on or over the stomach (just below the sternum))

fovea; fovea centralis (area consisting of a small depression in the retina containing cones and where vision is most acute)

parafovea (area of the retina immediately surrounding the fovea)

macula; macula lutea; macular area; yellow spot (a small yellowish central area of the retina that is rich in cones and that mediates clear detailed vision)

cortical area; cortical region (any of various regions of the cerebral cortex)

perineum (the general region between the anus and the genital organs)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A large indefinite location on the surface of the Earth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Context example:

penguins inhabit the polar regions

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

location (a point or extent in space)

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

laboratory; testing ground (a region resembling a laboratory inasmuch as it offers opportunities for observation and practice and experimentation)

terra incognita; unknown; unknown region (an unknown and unexplored region)

antipodes (any two places or regions on diametrically opposite sides of the Earth)

irredenta; irridenta (a region that is related ethnically or historically to one country but is controlled politically by another)

heartland (the central region of a country or continent; especially a region that is important to a country or to a culture)

biogeographical region (an area of the Earth determined by distribution of flora and fauna)

geographic area; geographic region; geographical area; geographical region (a demarcated area of the Earth)

field (somewhere (away from a studio or office or library or laboratory) where practical work is done or data is collected)

southland (any region lying in or toward the south)

northland (any region lying in or toward the north)

demesne; domain; land (territory over which rule or control is exercised)

district; dominion; territorial dominion; territory (a region marked off for administrative or other purposes)

zone of interior (the part of the theater of war not included in the theater of operations)

field; field of operations; theater; theater of operations; theatre; theatre of operations (a region in which active military operations are in progress)

theater of war; theatre of war (the entire land, sea, and air area that may become or is directly involved in war operations)

breadbasket (a geographic region serving as the principal source of grain)

backwater (a place or condition in which no development or progress is occurring)

area; country (a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography))

Instance hyponyms:

Occident; West (the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America)

French West Indies (the islands in the Lesser Antilles that are administered by France)

Far East (a popular expression for the countries of eastern Asia (usually including China and Mongolia and Taiwan and Japan and Korea and Indochina and eastern Siberia))

Old World (the regions of the world that were known to Europeans before the discovery of the Americas)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The approximate amount of something (usually used prepositionally as in 'in the region of')

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

neighborhood; region

Context example:

the price is in the neighborhood of $100

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

indefinite quantity (an estimated quantity)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A knowledge domain that you are interested in or are communicating about

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

realm; region

Context example:

the realm of the occult

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

domain; knowledge base; knowledge domain (the content of a particular field of knowledge)

 Context examples 

Painful sensation in the abdominal region.

(Abdominal Pain, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder characterized by a sensation of marked discomfort in the abdominal region.

(Abdominal Pain, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

Surgery performed on any part of the abdominal region of the body.

(Abdominal Surgical Procedure, NCI Thesaurus)

Until now, the region has been sparsely surveyed and sampled.

(Scientists return from expedition to lost continent of Zealandia, National Science Foundation)

I shall not be in any doubtful, or distant, or unapproachable region.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

“Well, well!” she said, smiting her small knees, and rising, “this is not business. Come, Steerforth, let's explore the polar regions, and have it over.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A strange, a terribly strange, region was unrolling itself before my eyes.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

And I have fought with the Nuklukyets, and the Kaltags, and the Sticks in far regions, even I, and alone.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

A benign mesenchymal neoplasm arising from skeletal muscle, usually in the head and neck region.

(Adult Rhabdomyoma, NCI Thesaurus)

An extra-adrenal paraganglioma that arises from the ampulla of Vater and the periampullary region.

(Ampulla of Vater Gangliocytic Paraganglioma, NCI Thesaurus)