territory
noun
ter·ri·to·ry
ˈter-ə-ˌtȯr-ē 
plural territories
1
a
: a geographic area belonging to or under the jurisdiction of a governmental authority
b
: an administrative subdivision of a country
c
: a part of the U.S. not included within any state but organized with a separate legislature
d
: a geographic area (such as a colonial possession) dependent on an external government but having some degree of autonomy
2
a
: an indeterminate geographic area
b
: a field of knowledge or interest
3
a
: an assigned area
especially
: one in which a sales representative or distributor operates
b
: an area often including a nesting or denning site and a variable foraging range that is occupied and defended by an animal or group of animals
Examples of territory in a Sentence
Those mountains are in Mexican territory.
Guam is a U.S. territory.
The birds are busy establishing territories and building nests.
Male cats spray to mark territory.
The goal of the expedition is to map unexplored territory.
Recent Examples on the Web
The attack took place in the city of Beit Hanoun in Gaza’s northeast corner, easily visible from the Israeli city of Sderot, in territory that was supposed to be under Israeli military control.
—
Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 12 July 2025
The Calabrian sister festival hopes to become an annual fixture, highlighting both the push within the wine sector to valorize local products and the territory in general to bring international visitors to the area.
—Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
Rather than increasing Ithaca's geographic footprint as much as possible, Kirby and his team focused on maximizing sales in their existing territory.
—Nicolas Vega, CNBC, 12 July 2025
Her behavior never rose to addiction territory like Felix’s had, but there was clearly a problem at least for a little while.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for territory
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show current usage.
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Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 12 July 2025
The Calabrian sister festival hopes to become an annual fixture, highlighting both the push within the wine sector to valorize local products and the territory in general to bring international visitors to the area.
—Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
Rather than increasing Ithaca's geographic footprint as much as possible, Kirby and his team focused on maximizing sales in their existing territory.
—Nicolas Vega, CNBC, 12 July 2025
Her behavior never rose to addiction territory like Felix’s had, but there was clearly a problem at least for a little while.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for territory
Cite this Entry
“Territory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/territory. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
territory
noun
ter·ri·to·ry
ˈter-ə-ˌtōr-ē
-ˌtȯr-
plural territories
1
a
: a geographic area belonging to or under the control of a government
b
: a part of the U.S. not included within any state but having a separate governing body
2
a
: an assigned area
a sales representative's territory
b
: an area that is occupied and defended by an animal or group of animals
Legal Definition
territory
noun
ter·ri·to·ry
ˈter-ə-ˌtōr-ē
plural territories
1
: a geographical area belonging to or under the jurisdiction of a governmental authority
2
: a political subdivision of a country
3
: a part of the U.S. (as Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands) not included within any state but organized with a separate legislature compare trust territory
territorially
adverb
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