county

1 of 2

noun (1)

coun·​ty ˈkau̇n-tē How to pronounce county (audio)
plural counties
1
: the domain of a count
2
a
: one of the territorial divisions of England and Wales and formerly also of Scotland and Northern Ireland constituting the chief units for administrative, judicial, and political purposes
b(1)
: the people of a county
(2)
British : the gentry of a county
3
: the largest territorial division for local government within a state of the U.S.
4
: the largest local administrative unit in various countries
county adjective

county

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural counties
archaic

Examples of county in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
House District 25 includes parts of Crawford, Franklin and Washington counties. Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2025 Beneath a pasture in scenic Lancaster County, archaeologists — and archaeologists in training — recently unearthed the likely remains of the county's oldest tavern, offering a glimpse into colonial American life. Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2025 Guerra said the question was now how the county and cities could work together to deal with the circumstances that have been handed down. Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 28 Oct. 2025 The advisory is for Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Johnson, Platte, Clay, Jackson, Atchison, Miami, Linn, Doniphan, Nodaway, Holt, Andrew, De Kalb, Buchanan, Clinton, Cass and Bates counties. Kansas City Star Weather Bot, Kansas City Star, 28 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for county

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English counte, from Anglo-French cunté, counté, from Medieval Latin comitatus, from Late Latin, office of a count, from comit-, comes count — more at count

Noun (2)

modification of Middle French comte

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1539, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of county was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“County.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/county. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

county

noun
coun·​ty
ˈkau̇nt-ē
plural counties
1
: the area owned by a count
2
: a division of a state or of a country for local government
Etymology

Noun

Middle English counte "division of the country for the purposes of government," from early French counté "region under control of a count," derived from Latin comes count — related to count entry 3

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