de ‧ part ‧ ment S2 W1 /dɪˈpɑːtmənt $ -ɑːr-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . one of the groups of people who work together in a particular part of a large organization such as a hospital, university, company, or government:
the personnel department
the English department
department of
the Department of the Environment
2 . an area in a large shop where a particular type of product is sold:
the toy department
3 . be sb’s department spoken if something is someone’s department, they are responsible for it or know a lot about it:
I’ll see what I can do, but it’s not really my department.
4 . spoken a particular part of someone’s character, or a particular part of a larger activity or subject:
Dave was lacking in the trustworthiness department.
—departmental /ˌdiːpɑːtˈmentl◂ $ -ɑːr-/ adjective :
a departmental meeting
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ NOUN + department
▪ a government department
The Home Office is the government department responsible for prisons.
▪ a university department
University departments are generally judged by their research quality.
▪ the Biology/Maths/History etc department (=in a university or school)
the Chemistry department at Southampton University
▪ the finance/marketing/design etc department (=in a company)
He worked in the sales department of a small software company.
▪ the outpatient/casualty etc department (=in a hospital)
I had to go to the physiotherapy department for treatment twice a week.
■ department + NOUN
▪ a department head
These decisions are made by the department head.
▪ a department manager (=in a company)
After two years, he was promoted to the job of department manager.
▪ a department official (=in a government department)
a senior justice department official
▪ department staff (=people working in a department)
All department staff will be affected by the new working hours.
■ phrases
▪ the Department of Health/Trade/Education etc (=in a government)
the U.S. Department of Agriculture
▪ a member of a department (=a person working in a department)
All members of the Biology Department are actively committed to research.