sect

UK: /ˈsɛkt/ US: /sɛkt/ ,(sekt)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

sect /sɛkt/   n. [countable]

1. Religion a body of people following a particular religious faith;
   a denomination.
2. Religion a group differing from a generally accepted religious tradition.
3. any group united by a specific doctrine.

See -seq-.
-sect-, root. 

1. -sect- comes from Latin, where it has the meaning "cut.'' This meaning is found in such words as: bisect, dissect, intersect, resection, section, sector, vivisection.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

sect  (sekt), n. 

1. Religion a body of persons adhering to a particular religious faith;
   a religious denomination.
2. Religion a group regarded as heretical or as deviating from a generally accepted religious tradition.
3. Religion (in the sociology of religion) a Christian denomination characterized by insistence on strict qualifications for membership, as distinguished from the more inclusive groups called churches.
4. any group, party, or faction united by a specific doctrine or under a doctrinal leader.

• Latin secta something to follow, pathway, course of conduct, school of thought, probably noun, nominal derivative of sectārī to pursue, accompany, wait upon, frequentative of sequī to follow
• Middle English secte 1300–50

sect., 

1. section.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

sect / sɛkt/ noun

1. a subdivision of a larger religious group (esp the Christian Church as a whole), the members of which have to some extent diverged from the rest by developing deviating beliefs, practices, etc
2. a schismatic religious body characterized by an attitude of exclusivity in contrast to the more inclusive religious groups called denominations or Churches
3. a religious group regarded as extreme or heretical
4. a group of people with a common interest, doctrine, etc; faction

Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin secta faction, following, from the stem of sequī to follow

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

-sect combining_form

1. to cut or divide, esp into a specified number of parts: trisect

Etymology: from Latin sectus cut, from secāre to cut; see saw¹