any large, indefinite, and continuous part of a surface or space an area considered as a unit for geographical, functional, social, or cultural reasons an administrative division of a country a realm or sphere of activity or interest range, area, or scope: in what region is the price likely to be? a division or part of the body: the lumbar region
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
re•gion /ˈridʒən/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
See -reg-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a large area of a surface, space, or body:a region of the earth; a tropical region.
- a district of a certain kind:an industrial region.
- Anatomya division of the body:the abdominal region.
- in the region of, approximately;
almost:cost in the region of ten dollars.
See -reg-.
re•gion
(rē′jən),USA pronunciation n.
- an extensive, continuous part of a surface, space, or body:a region of the earth.
- Usually, regions. the vast or indefinite entirety of a space or area, or something compared to one:the regions of the firmament; the regions of the mind.
- a part of the earth's surface (land or sea) of considerable and usually indefinite extent:a tropical region.
- a district without respect to boundaries or extent:a charming region in Connecticut.
- Geography, Astronomya part or division of the universe, as the heavens:a galactic region.
- a large indefinite area or range of something specified;
sphere:a region of authority. - an area of interest, activity, pursuit, etc.;
field:studies in the region of logic. - Governmentan administrative division of a city or territory.
- [Zoogeog.]a major faunal area of the earth's surface, sometimes one regarded as a division of a larger area.
- Anatomya place in or a division of the body or a part of the body:the abdominal region.
- Mathematics
- Also called domain. an open connected set.
- the union of such a set and some or all of its boundary points.
- Latin regiōn- (stem of regiō) direction, line, boundary, equivalent. to reg(ere) to rule + -iōn- -ion
- Anglo-French regiun
- Middle English 1300–50
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged area, section, portion.
- 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged locale, site, tract, quarter.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'rural region' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):