section

noun

1. A cutting; a part cut out from the rest of something.
2. A part, piece, subdivision of anything.

   “Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. […] But the scandals kept coming, and so we entered stage three – what therapists call "bargaining". A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul. Instead it offers fixes and patches.”

3. A part, piece, subdivision of anything.

   “The horn section is the group of symphonic musicians who play the French horn.”

4. A part of a document, especially a major part; often notated with §.
5. An act or instance of cutting.
6. A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).

   “Japan and China also produced Noah's arks, where Noah was known as Fohi. They were of wood and beautifully decorated, the animals being bright in color and usually flat in section and fixed to flat stands.”

7. A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
8. A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
9. A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
10. A cross-section (image that shows an object as if cut along a plane).
11. An incision or the act of making an incision.
12. (abbreviation, alt-of, colloquial, ellipsis)An incision or the act of making an incision.

    “They had planned to go into my section scar but the surgeon didnʼt think he could see well enough.”

13. thin section, a thin slice of material prepared as a specimen for research.
14. A taxonomic rank below the genus (and subgenus if present), but above the species.
15. An informal taxonomic rank below the order ranks and above the family ranks.
16. A group of 10-15 soldiers led by a non-commissioned officer and forming part of a platoon.
17. (New-Zealand)A piece of residential land; a plot.
18. (Canada, US)Synonym of square mile, a unit of land area, especially in the contexts of Canadian surveys and American land grants and legal property descriptions.
19. The symbol §, denoting a section of a document.
20. A sequence of rock layers.
21. Archeological section; vertical plane and cross-section of the ground to view its profile and stratigraphy; part of an archeological sequence.
22. Angle section, L-section, angle iron, steel angle, slotted angle.
23. (Philippines)A class in a school; a group of students in a regularly scheduled meeting with a teacher in a certain school year or semester or school quarter year.

verb

1. (transitive)To cut, divide or separate into pieces.

   “Overlap spans and neutral sections have been provided at intervals along the line, which is thus sectioned electrically, not only at the feeder station and track sectioning cabins, but also by switches at certain overlap spans.”

2. (transitive)To reduce to the degree of thinness required for study with the microscope.
3. (Australia, New-Zealand, UK, transitive)To commit (a person) to a hospital for mental health treatment as an involuntary patient. So called after various sections of legal acts regarding mental health.

   “Tribunals were set up as watchdogs in cases of compulsory detention (sectioning). […] Informal patients, however, could be sectioned, and this was often a fear of patients once they were in hospital.”

   “The doctor then sectioned her, making her an involuntary patient, and had her moved to a secure ward.”

   “After explaining that for 7 years, from ’88 to ’95, I was permanently sectioned under the Mental Health act, robbed of my freedom, my integrity, my rights, I wrote at the time;- […]”

4. (transitive)To perform a cesarean section on (someone).

   “"But if she's gone into active labour she could be bleeding massively and you may have to section her there and then."”

   “You may hear a physician say, "I don't want to section her until the baby declares itself."”