department

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA ^(key): /dɪˈpɑːtm(ə)nt/
• (US) IPA ^(key): /dəˈpɑrtmənt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: de‧part‧ment

Noun

Singular department

Plural departments

1. A department is a part of a business, school, hospital or other institution that has a particular job.

   The Department of Health is planning to build three new hospitals in the area.

   It's often difficult to get the various government departments to work together.

   He was in the Department of Law at the Keele University for nearly 20 years.

   Professor Swallow, became Head of the English Department at Rummidge University.

   The toy department is over there past

2. A department is a part of a large store, which sells one kind of product.

   You can find balls in the sporting goods department.

3. Somebody's department is the things that they are good at or responsible for.

   Sorry, I can't help you. That's not my department.

Synonyms

• area
• division

Related words

• departmental
• departmentally
• dept
• department store