department

/dɪˈpɑːtmənt/ noun [C] (written abbreviation dept)

Definition

› MANAGEMENT one part of a large organization, such as a company or university, that deals with a particular area of work, business, study, etc.: run/manage a department the sales/human resources/finance department He was previously a lecturer in the pharmacy department of Queen's University. a department director/supervisor

› COMMERCE one part of a large store that sells many different types of goods: the book/electrical/menswear department She has a Saturday job in the footwear department of a large city centre store.

› GOVERNMENT one part of a government that is responsible for a particular part of its work: the Department of Education/Health/Justice

be sb's department informal › to be something that a particular person knows a lot about or is responsible for: You'll need to ask Joe about that - it's more his departmant than mine.

→ See also bank trust department

(Definition of department noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)