■ noun
1》 any of the more or less distinct parts into which something is or may be divided or from which it is made up.
↘ N. Amer. a measure of land, equal to one square mile.
↘ chiefly N. Amer. a particular district of a town.
↘ NZ a building plot.
2》 a distinct group within a larger body of people or things.
↘a subdivision of an army platoon.
↘ Biology a secondary taxonomic category, especially a subgenus.
3》 the cutting of a solid by or along a plane.
↘the shape resulting from cutting a solid along a plane.
↘a representation of the internal structure of something as if it has been cut through.
4》 Surgery a separation by cutting.
5》 Biology a thin slice of plant or animal tissue prepared for microscopic examination.
■ verb
1》 divide into ~s.
2》 Surgery divide by cutting.
3》 Brit. commit (someone) compulsorily to a psychiatric hospital in accordance with a ~ of a mental health act.
Derivatives
~al adjective
~alize or ~alise verb
~ally adverb
~ed adjective
Origin
ME: from Fr. ~ or L. sectio(n-) , from secare 'to cut'.