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
Noun
Its closure would likely require policymakers to institute drastic reforms on how the nation’s most populous county handles waste. Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024 That western Upper Peninsula county has the state's highest rate of school vaccine waivers, with 18.9% foregoing a required immunization. Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 10 Mar. 2024 While our county still attracts a lot of people moving here from other parts of the state and country, the census data is undeniable: More people are leaving than coming. Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2024 Hawaii's four counties, and Maui County in particular, are well-known for lengthy permit processing times. CBS News, 9 Mar. 2024 Here are the median costs of homes in the Indianapolis metro area and other surrounding counties. Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Mar. 2024 The county has until the end of the month to count all the ballots and certify the result. Angela Rodriguez, Sacramento Bee, 8 Mar. 2024 Some residents in nearby unincorporated communities and more rural neighborhoods are pushing county leaders to keep them in the loop. Sarah Ritter, Kansas City Star, 7 Mar. 2024 An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for March 28 regarding the issues at hand in Gentry’s request to have the case tried in a different county. Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 27 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'county.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Dictionary Entries Near county

Cite this Entry

“County.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/county. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on county

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