MEANING
1. A local territorial or administrative division whose status depends on the country.
2. In South African usage, a residential area historically designated for nonwhite communities under racial segregation.
Use it for
Local governance; administrative geography; historically segregated settlementLet the jurisdiction and history establish what this kind of place is.
Words that belong together
- rural township
- township boundary
- township council
On the page
The township maintained its own roads but shared emergency services with the county.
Her grandparents still lived in the township where apartheid planners had relocated them.
Crossing into the next township meant applying to a different council.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- township
Usage notes
Primary category: setting. In parts of North America, a unit of local government or land survey. In South Africa, also a residential settlement shaped by historical racial segregation; not a universal synonym for village. Plural: townships. No other inflection applies to this noun.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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