1 a : an area of land that belongs to or is controlled by a government [noncount] ▪ Those mountains are in Mexican territory. ▪ We're entering enemy territory. [=an area of land that belongs to or is controlled by our enemy] [count] ▪ disputed territories
b [count] : one of the parts of the United States that is not a state
▪ Guam is a U.S. territory.
c [count] : any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into
▪ Canada's Yukon Territory 2 : an area that an animal or group of animals uses and defends [count] ▪ The birds are busy establishing territories and building nests. [noncount] ▪ Male cats spray to mark territory. 3 [noncount] : an area of land or water
▪ We've covered a lot of territory today. [=we have traveled a long distance] ▪ The goal of the expedition is to map unexplored/uncharted territory. — sometimes used figuratively ▪ an area of study that was unexplored/uncharted territory at the time ▪ Let's get the meeting started. We have a lot of territory to cover today. [=a lot to talk about, decide, etc.] ▪ Dealing with our cars and the mechanic is her territory. [=something she is in charge of] ▪ As the conversation turned to politics, I knew we were heading into dangerous territory. 4 [count] : an area that someone is responsible for when doing a job
▪ a salesman whose territory includes New England and upstate New York 5 [count] sports : the area on a playing field (such as a football field) that is defended by a particular team
▪ They started deep in their own territory and went all the way down the field to score a touchdown.