department

/di'pɑ:tmənt/

Thân thiện

The customer service department is located on the ground floor.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A specialized division within a large organization: A distinct section of a business, government, university, or store responsible for a specific function or area of activity.
   • A principal administrative division in some countries: A territorial and governmental unit, such as in France or Colombia.
   • A distinct area of knowledge or activity: A specialized sphere or field of interest.

Usage Examples

• As a specialized division:

  • She works in the marketing department.
  • Please take this form to the human resources department.
  • You can find light bulbs in the hardware department of the store.

• As an administrative division:

  • He was born in the Department of Haute-Savoie in France.
  • The country is divided into 32 departments.

• As a sphere of knowledge/activity:

  • Baking is not my department; you should ask my sister.
  • Theoretical physics is a difficult department of science.

Advanced Usage

• "Department of": Used to specify the exact area or field.

  • The Department of Motor Vehicles is where you renew your driver's license.
  • She is the head of the Department of English Literature.

• "That's not my department": An idiomatic expression meaning something is not one's area of responsibility or expertise.

  • "Can you fix the printer?" – "Sorry, that's not my department."

Variants and Related Words

• Departmental (adj): Relating to a department.
  • We need departmental approval for this budget.
• Departmentalize (verb): To divide into departments.
  • The company was departmentalized by function.

Synonyms

• Division: A major unit or section of an organization.
• Section: A distinct part within a larger place or group.
• Branch: A division of a large organization, often geographically separate.
• Bureau: An office or department for a specific business or service.

Related Phrases

• Department store (Compound Noun): A large retail store offering a wide variety of goods organized into separate departments.
  • We went shopping at a large department store downtown.
• Fire department (Compound Noun): The public or private organization for preventing and fighting fires.
  • Call the fire department immediately!

Related Idioms

• A department of one's own: To have a unique or specialized role.
  • With his eccentric ideas, he's really in a department of his own.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a specialized sphere of knowledge
   • baking is not my department
   • his work established a new department of literature
2. the territorial and administrative division of some countries (such as France)
3. a specialized division of a large organization
   • you'll find it in the hardware department
   • she got a job in the historical section of the Treasury

Từ đồng nghĩa

• section