province
noun
prov·ince ˈprä-vən(t)s 
1
a
: a country or region brought under the control of the ancient Roman government
b
: an administrative district or division of a country
c
provinces plural : all of a country except the metropolises
2
a
: a division of a country forming the jurisdiction of an archbishop or metropolitan
b
: a territorial unit of a religious order
3
a
: a biogeographic division of less rank than a region
b
: an area that exhibits essential continuity of geologic history
also : one characterized by particular structural or petrological features
4
a
: proper or appropriate function or scope : sphere
that question is outside my province
b
: a department of knowledge or activity
Synonyms
- area
- arena
- bailiwick
- barony
- business
- circle
- demesne
- department
- discipline
- domain
- element
- fief
- fiefdom
- field
- firmament
- front
- game
- kingdom
- line
- precinct
- realm
- specialty
- sphere
- terrain
- walk
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
They left the city for life in the provinces. a legal question outside the doctor's province
Recent Examples on the Web The missiles were launched from South Pyongan province, South Korea’s military said, without specifying the flight distance, altitude or the precise launch time. 
Dasl Yoon, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2022 Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign pushed out Serb forces from the former province. Valerie Hopkins, New York Times, 31 July 2022 Delegates from the KwaZulu-Natal province who remain loyal to former President Jacob Zuma, have argued that the step-aside rule is not implemented consistently and is used by Ramaphosa to silence political rivals. Mogomotsi Magome, ajc, 31 July 2022 Marielle and Pascal Giai, a couple from the French province of Provence, opened the store following its 34-year existence as The Mission Hills Pet Shop. Diane Bellcolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2022 Granja traveled to Quito in a caravan Monday night from the province of Cotopaxi. Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 24 June 2022 Peinado, originally from the Salvadoran province of La Libertad, was a member of the New Ideas party that brought Bukele to power riding a populist tide of disgust with El Salvador’s two-party status quo. Soudi Jiménez, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2022 Em Phumanny comes from the lush province of Kampong Chhnang, north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Michael Scott Moore, The New Yorker, 25 May 2022 Most are Hakka Chinese — an ethnic group mostly from the Guangdong province of China — who arrived more than 150 years prior for menial labor jobs and then made Tahiti home. Kaila Yu, Travel + Leisure, 13 Mar. 2022 See More
Dasl Yoon, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2022 Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign pushed out Serb forces from the former province. Valerie Hopkins, New York Times, 31 July 2022 Delegates from the KwaZulu-Natal province who remain loyal to former President Jacob Zuma, have argued that the step-aside rule is not implemented consistently and is used by Ramaphosa to silence political rivals. Mogomotsi Magome, ajc, 31 July 2022 Marielle and Pascal Giai, a couple from the French province of Provence, opened the store following its 34-year existence as The Mission Hills Pet Shop. Diane Bellcolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2022 Granja traveled to Quito in a caravan Monday night from the province of Cotopaxi. Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 24 June 2022 Peinado, originally from the Salvadoran province of La Libertad, was a member of the New Ideas party that brought Bukele to power riding a populist tide of disgust with El Salvador’s two-party status quo. Soudi Jiménez, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2022 Em Phumanny comes from the lush province of Kampong Chhnang, north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Michael Scott Moore, The New Yorker, 25 May 2022 Most are Hakka Chinese — an ethnic group mostly from the Guangdong province of China — who arrived more than 150 years prior for menial labor jobs and then made Tahiti home. Kaila Yu, Travel + Leisure, 13 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin provincia
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Kids Definition
province
noun
prov·ince ˈprä-vəns
1
: a part of a country having a government of its own (as one of the divisions of Canada)
2
provinces plural : the part or parts of a country far from the capital or chief city
3
: an area of activity or authority
the province of science
province
noun
as in area
a region of activity, knowledge, or influence a legal question outside the doctor's province Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- area
- department
- realm
- kingdom
- domain
- element
- field
- territory
- sphere
- walk
- specialty
- terrain
- fief
- arena
- bailiwick
- barony
- discipline
- precinct
- business
- front
- game
- circle
- fiefdom
- study
- subject
- confine
- demesne
- firmament
- frontier
- line
- profession
- occupation
- scope
- pursuit
- vocation
- turf
- reach
- extent
- breadth
- width
- racket
- ambit
- ken
- sweep
- subfield
- compass
- subspecialty
- amplitude
- dimension(s)
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of province are duty, function, and office. While all these words mean "the acts or operations expected of a person or thing," province applies to a function, office, or duty that naturally or logically falls to one.
I felt it was not my province to inquire — Anne Brontë
The words duty and province are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, duty applies to a task or responsibility imposed by one's occupation, rank, status, or calling.
it is the judicial duty of the court, to examine the whole case — R. B. Taney
The meanings of function and province largely overlap; however, function implies a definite end or purpose or a particular kind of work.
the function of language is two-fold: to communicate emotion and to give information — Aldous Huxley
The synonyms office and province are sometimes interchangeable, but office is typically applied to the function or service associated with a trade or profession or a special relationship to others.
they exercise the offices of the judge, the priest, the counsellor — W. E. Gladstone