noun
    
    plural -tions
    
    [count] one of the parts that form something
    
    
    
    
    
    a particular area that is part of a larger place
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    a part of a newspaper, play, book, etc.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    a part of a group of people
    
    
    
    
    
    [count] :one of several parts made so that something can be put together easily
    
    
    
    [count] :a part of a band or orchestra that has instruments of a particular kind
    
    
    
    
    
    [count] US :one of the parts of an orange, grapefruit, or similar fruit that can be easily separated from each other
    
    
    
    see color picture
    
    [count] medical :a layer cut from a part of the body
    
    
    
    [noncount] :a diagram showing how something would look if it was cut from the top to the bottom :cross section
    
    
    
    [count] mathematics :a shape that is made when a line cuts through a solid figure
    
    
    
    [count] US :a piece of land that is one mile wide and one mile long
    
    verb
    
    -tions; -tioned; -tioning
    
    [+ obj] to divide (something) into parts
    
    
    
    
    
    Brit :to officially send (a mentally ill person) to a psychiatric hospital
    
    
    
    section off
    
    [phrasal verb]
    
    section (something) off or section off (something) :to separate (an area) from a larger area