arrondissement

noun

ar·​ron·​disse·​ment ə-ˈrän-də-smənt How to pronounce arrondissement (audio) ˌa-ˌrōⁿ-(ˌ)dē-ˈsmäⁿ How to pronounce arrondissement (audio)
1
: an administrative district of some large French cities
2
: the largest division of a French department

Examples of arrondissement in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In the days leading up to his show, Chavarria and his team were hard at work in his make-shift studio in the 6th arrondissement. — Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 27 June 2026 Ten days later, acid was sprayed in two dining rooms of a kosher restaurant in Paris’s 17th arrondissement. — Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 27 May 2026 Roland Garros does have a handful of hotels within a 15-minute walk away in the 16th arrondissement. — Rachel Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 June 2026 In Paris’s 20th arrondissement, there is a park, of sorts, where the city’s greatest revolutionaries go to rot. — Emily Cox, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for arrondissement

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, "action of making round or rounding off, circumscription of boundaries, extension of a territory, subdivision of a French department," going back to Middle French, "rounding off," from arrondiss-, variant stem of arrondir "to make round, round off" (going back to Old French arondir, from a-, prefix forming transitive verbs — going back to Latin ad- ad- — + -rondir, verbal derivative of reund, rond round entry 1) + -ment -ment

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of arrondissement was in 1746

Rhymes for arrondissement

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Browse Nearby Words

arrondi
arrondissement
arrow
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Cite this Entry

“Arrondissement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arrondissement. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on arrondissement

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about arrondissement

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