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[sek-shuh n] /ˈsɛk ʃən/

noun
1.
a part that is cut off or separated.
2.
a distinct part or subdivision of anything, as an object, country, community, class, or the like:
the poor section of town; the left section of a drawer.
3.
a distinct part or subdivision of a writing, as of a newspaper, legal code, chapter, etc.:
the financial section of a daily paper; section 2 of the bylaws.
4.
one of a number of parts that can be fitted together to make a whole:
sections of a fishing rod.
5.
(in most of the U.S. west of Ohio) one of the 36 numbered subdivisions, each one square mile (2.59 sq. km or 640 acres), of a township.
6.
an act or instance of cutting; separation by cutting.
7.
Surgery.

8.
a thin slice of a tissue, mineral, or the like, as for microscopic examination.
9.
a representation of an object as it would appear if cut by a plane, showing its internal structure.
10.
Military.

11.
Railroads.

12.
any of two or more trains, buses, or the like, running on the same route and schedule at the same time, one right behind the other, and considered as one unit, as when a second is necessary to accommodate more passengers than the first can carry:
On holidays the New York to Boston train runs in three sections.
13.
a segment of a naturally segmented fruit, as of an orange or grapefruit.
14.
a division of an orchestra or band containing all the instruments of one class:
a rhythm section.
15.
Bookbinding. (def 8).
16.
Also called section mark. a mark used to indicate a subdivision of a book, chapter, or the like, or as a mark of reference to a footnote.
17.
Theater. one of a series of circuits for controlling certain lights, as footlights.
18.
(def 12).
verb (used with object)
19.
to cut or divide into sections.
20.
to cut through so as to present a section.
21.
Surgery. to make an incision.
noun
1.
(engineering) a scale drawing of a section through a symmetrical object that shows only half the object
/ˈsɛkʃən/
noun
1.
a part cut off or separated from the main body of something
2.
a part or subdivision of a piece of writing, book, etc: the sports section of the newspaper
3.
one of several component parts
4.
a distinct part or subdivision of a country, community, etc
5.
(US & Canadian) an area one mile square (640 acres) in a public survey, esp in the western parts of the US and Canada
6.
(NZ) a plot of land for building on, esp in a suburban area
7.
the section of a railway track that is maintained by a single crew or is controlled by a particular signal box
8.
the act or process of cutting or separating by cutting
9.
a representation of a portion of a building or object exposed when cut by an imaginary vertical plane so as to show its construction and interior
10.
(geometry)

11.
(surgery) any procedure involving the cutting or division of an organ, structure, or part, such as a Caesarian section
12.
a thin slice of biological tissue, mineral, etc, prepared for examination by a microscope
13.
a segment of an orange or other citrus fruit
14.
a small military formation, typically comprising two or more squads or aircraft
15.
(Austral & NZ) a fare stage on a bus, tram, etc
16.
(music)

17.
Also called signature, gathering, gather, quire. a folded printing sheet or sheets ready for gathering and binding
verb (transitive)
18.
to cut or divide into sections
19.
to cut through so as to reveal a section
20.
(in drawing, esp mechanical drawing) to shade so as to indicate sections
21.
(surgery) to cut or divide (an organ, structure, or part)
22.
(Brit, social welfare) to have (a mentally disturbed person) confined in a mental hospital under an appropriate section of the mental health legislation
n.

late 14c., “intersection of two straight lines; division of a scale;” from Old French section or directly from Latin sectionem (nominative sectio) “a cutting, cutting off, division,” noun of action from past participle stem of secare “to cut,” from PIE root *sek- “to cut” (cf. Old Church Slavonic seko, sešti “to cut,” se čivo “ax, hatchet;” Lithuanian isekti “to engrave, carve;” Albanian šate “mattock;” Old Saxon segasna, Old English sigðe “scythe;” Old English secg “sword,” seax “knife, short sword;” Old Irish doescim “I cut;” Latin saxum “rock, stone”).

From 1550s as “act of cutting or dividing.” Meaning “subdivision of a written work, statute, etc.” is from 1570s. Meaning “a part cut off from the rest” is from early 15c.
v.

“divide into sections,” 1819, from section (n.). Related: Sectioned; sectioning.

section sec·tion (sěk’shən)
n.

v. sec·tioned, sec·tion·ing, sec·tions