Department - Definition and Overview

The word department has a number of meanings:

It can mean an administrative sector of the government. It designates administrative areas of centralized countries,

• See département, for Benin
• See département, for Côte d'Ivoire
• See département, for France
• See departamentos, for Bolivia.
• See departamentos, for Guatemala.

In some countries (e.g. United States, Switzerland), department is a term used instead of ministry to define a specific sector of the federal government.

• See Department (US government)
• See Department (Swiss government)

• Department (US Army), is a term used, by the US Army, mostly prior to World War I.
• A Department (naval) is a section devoted to one of several major tasks.

• Department store
• Fire department
• Police department

In business, see departmentalization