department
Other forms: departments
A department is one section or part of a larger group, like a company or a school. The philosophy department of a university is just one of many, including English, math, and sociology.
Your local hospital has an emergency department, as well as surgical and mental health departments, or units. A company might have finance departments and hiring departments, and a town government has public works and fire departments. A "department store" is likewise split into sections. In each case, the departments specialize in one certain aspect of the organization. You can also say, "Making cookies is my department," if you're the person in your family who's the baking expert.
Definitions of department
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a specialized division of a large organization“you'll find it in the hardware department”
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synonyms:
section
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types:
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academic department
a division of a school that is responsible for a given subject
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business department
a division of a business firm
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personnel, personnel department, personnel office, staff office
the department responsible for hiring and training and placing employees and for setting policies for personnel management
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government department
a department of government
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payroll, payroll department
the department that determines the amounts of wage or salary due to each employee
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security, security department
a department responsible for the security of the institution's property and workers
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ministry
a government department under the direction of a minister
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anthropology department, department of anthropology
the academic department responsible for teaching and research in anthropology
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art department
the academic department responsible for teaching art and art appreciation
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biology department, department of biology
the academic department responsible for teaching and research in biology
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chemistry department, department of chemistry
the academic department responsible for teaching and research in chemistry
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department of computer science
the academic department responsible for teaching and research in computer science
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department of economics, economics department
the academic department responsible for teaching and research in economics
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English department, department of English
the academic department responsible for teaching English and American literature
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department of history, history department
the academic department responsible for teaching history
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department of linguistics, linguistics department
the academic department responsible for teaching and research in linguistics
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department of mathematics, mathematics department
the academic department responsible for teaching and research in mathematics
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department of philosophy, philosophy department
the academic department responsible for teaching philosophy
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department of physics, physics department
the academic department responsible for teaching and research in physics
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department of music, music department
the academic department responsible for teaching music and music appreciation
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department of psychology, psychology department
the academic department responsible for teaching and research in psychology
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department of sociology, sociology department
the academic department responsible for teaching and research in sociology
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advertising department, advertising division
the division of a business that is responsible for advertising
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editorial department
the department of a publishing business that edits material for publication
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parts department
the division of a business (e.g. a service garage) that sells replacement parts
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building department, plant department
the division of a business responsible for building and maintaining the physical plant
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purchasing department
the division of a business that is responsible for purchases
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sales department, sales division, sales force
the division of a business that is responsible for selling products or services
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service department
the division of a business that provides customer services
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treasury
the government department responsible for collecting and managing and spending public revenues
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department of local government, local department
a permanent department created to perform the work of a local government
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Special Branch
a government police department dealing with political security
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State Department
a department of government in one of the 50 states
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department of the federal government, federal department, federal office
a department of the federal government of the United States
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admiralty
the department in charge of the navy (as in Great Britain)
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type of:
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division
an administrative unit in government or business
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the territorial and administrative division of some countries (such as France)
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type of:
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administrative district, administrative division, territorial division
a district defined for administrative purposes
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administrative district, administrative division, territorial division
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a specialized sphere of knowledge
Pronunciation
US
/dɪˈpɑrtmɪnt/
UK
/dɪˈpɑtmənt/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘department'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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