canton.

1. A territorial division or government unit, especially a constituent state in Switzerland or a subdivision in certain other systems.

2. A small rectangular division at an upper corner of a heraldic shield, usually its dexter side.

3. To station or lodge troops in quarters across a district.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a Swiss canton
• a French canton

On the page

The Swiss canton maintained records absent from the city archive.

She checked the French canton boundary before comparing population figures.

Usage notes

Primary category: setting. Forms: Singular canton; plural cantons. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: cantons.