section: Meaning and Definition of

sec•tion

Pronunciation: (sek'shun), [key]
— n.
  1. a part that is cut off or separated.
  2. a distinct part or subdivision of anything, as an object, country, community, class, or the like: the poor section of town; the left section of a drawer.
  3. a distinct part or subdivision of a writing, as of a newspaper, legal code, chapter, etc.: the financial section of a daily paper; section 2 of the bylaws.
  4. one of a number of parts that can be fitted together to make a whole: sections of a fishing rod.
  5. (in most of the U.S. west of Ohio) one of the 36 numbered subdivisions, each one square mile (2.59 sq. km or 640 acres), of a township.
  6. an act or instance of cutting; separation by cutting.
    1. the making of an incision.
    2. an incision.
  7. a thin slice of a tissue, mineral, or the like, as for microscopic examination.
  8. a representation of an object as it would appear if cut by a plane, showing its internal structure.
    1. a small unit consisting of two or more squads.
    2. Also calledstaff section.any of the subdivisions of a staff.
    3. a small tactical division in naval and air units.
    1. a division of a sleeping car containing both an upper and a lower berth.
    2. a length of trackage, roadbed, signal equipment, etc., maintained by one crew.
  9. any of two or more trains, buses, or the like, running on the same route and schedule at the same time, one right behind the other, and considered as one unit, as when a second is necessary to accommodate more passengers than the first can carry: On holidays the New York to Boston train runs in three sections.
  10. a segment of a naturally segmented fruit, as of an orange or grapefruit.
  11. a division of an orchestra or band containing all the instruments of one class: a rhythm section.
  12. signature (def. 8).
  13. Also calleda mark used to indicate a subdivision of a book, chapter, or the like, or as a mark of reference to a footnote.
  14. one of a series of circuits for controlling certain lights, as footlights.
  15. shape (def. 12).
—v.t.
  1. to cut or divide into sections.
  2. to cut through so as to present a section.
  3. to make an incision.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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