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administrative division

administrative division

1 3.7
A region like a state or district that a government uses to run local services
  • noun
  • /ədˌmɪnɪˈstreɪtɪv dɪˈvɪʒən/
translation icon : división administrativa
  • China is divided into 34 administrative divisions that include provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities.

Examples

  • There are numerous international institutions with regional affiliates or with administrative divisions along regional lines.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Briefly, China is divided into 34 administrative divisions: 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, and four municipalities that are directly under the Central Government, along with two Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macau).

    Academic text (2008)
  • This tendency is reflected in the typical business school's administrative division into departments of accounting, economics, management, and marketing.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The reforms that followed ended culturally based administrative divisions in the country and placed the country under one uniform administrative unit.

    Academic text (2006)
  • This subset was created using existing geographical administrative divisions, such as suburbs or districts.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Eventually, there will be four Jesuit provinces (administrative divisions) in the United States instead of ten.

    Blog text (10)
  • One of the outcomes of the 1993 Oslo accords was a temporary administrative division of the West Bank into three zones.

    Blog text (17)
  • With the strengthening of the individual state's social and economic functions, these somewhat arbitrary administrative divisions assumed greater significance in the day-to-day existence of Andinos.

    Academic text (1996)
  • As a result of such introspection, some alterations have occurred: for example, Ethiopia has recently introduced a new system of administrative divisions that will attempt to accommodate its 70 ethnic groups.

    Academic text (2002)
  • In the United States, each state is considered an administrative division with its own local government.

Synonyms

division
vsadministrative division
358 3.2

A part of a larger organization that has its own work

is specifically about areas created by authorities for administration
department
vsadministrative division
  • Formal
145 2.1

An area of a country with its own local government, like in France

is a general region term not limited to specific national names
governorate
vsadministrative division
  • Formal
2 8.2

A part of a country like a state or province that a local leader runs

is a general government region not specifically led by a governor
administrative district
vsadministrative division
3.9

An area managed by local government for public services

is a broader region set by government rather than a single clearly bounded area
territorial division
vsadministrative division
  • Formal
5.4

An area set up for local government, like a region or district

is the same concept but stresses formation by authority for administration
administrative unit
vsadministrative division
3.6

A part of an organization that manages specific tasks and services

is focused on territorial regions rather than internal administrative parts

How Big

region
977 2.0
administrative division
1 3.7
municipality
63 4.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

administrative + division

The phrase is transparently composed: 'administrative' (relating to administration) modifies 'division' (a part or section), yielding a part/region set aside for administrative purposes. This is a regular compositional pattern found across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Administrative division comes from the simple idea of splitting a country into parts: administrative means about running or 'managing' things and division means a split into areas. So it means a part of a country or city set up for the government to 'manage', a 'region' or 'district'.