region
Pluralregions
- 1A large area of land or sea, like a country or part of one.
Like one big slice of a map marked off as its own area.
The mountain region is famous for its clean air.
Many different languages are spoken across the region.
UsageOften the + plural: the polar regions are the very cold areas near the poles.
- 2
- 3A separate part of something other than land or sea, such as space, a surface or a scale.
New stars are born in cold, dark regions of space.
On the graph, the shaded region shows all the safe values.
UsageSay a region of space or a graph. But in the region of ten means about ten.
Similarpart, area, segment, portion, zone
Note
- 4A particular part or area of the body, such as the chest or back.
Like the different parts of a map, but on your body.
The doctor pressed gently on the lower region of her stomach.
Pain in the chest region can have many causes.
UsageUsually after a body word: the chest region, the stomach region.
Note
Less common meanings
- 5An amount that is close to a number, but not exact.
The repairs will cost in the region of five hundred dollars.
His weight stayed in the region of two hundred pounds for years.
UsageSay in the region of before a number. You don't need about too.
Similarneighborhood, vicinity
- 6All the parts of a country away from its capital city, thought of together.
Many young people leave the regions to find work in the capital.
The new trains will make life easier for people living in the regions.
UsagePeople often say the regions when they feel the capital gets more money.
Similarprovinces
Note
- 7The people who live in a particular area.
Like when we say "the town" cheered, meaning the people in it.
The entire region celebrated when the team won.
The region mourned the loss of its beloved mayor.
Similarcommunity, population
- 8A person's rank, position, or place of high standing.
he is of too high a region
c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”Here, region means rank or position, so he is of too high a standing.Note
- 9The space between the earth and the moon, as old science imagined it.
Note
Practice
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Origin
From Latin regiō, coming through French into Middle English.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Region ultimately derives from Latin regiō. en.wiktionary.org
- The word passed through French into Middle English. en.wiktionary.org