Meaning & use
the segment
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Meanings
nouncountable
one of the parts into which something is divided or naturally separates.
Grammar: Countable: a segment, the segment, several segments. Often followed by 'of': a segment of the market.
Patterns
- a segment of something
- divide something into segments
- the segment about something
The final segment of the documentary focuses on the scientists' early work.
Cut the orange into segments and remove any seeds.
This segment of the population has been largely ignored by advertisers.
nouncountablemathematicstechnical
a part of a line between two points, or a part of a circle cut off by a line.
Grammar: Technical use in geometry; often 'line segment' or 'the segment AB'.
Patterns
- a line segment
- the segment between two points
Draw a line segment from A to B and measure its length.
The area of the segment is found by subtracting the triangle from the sector.
nouncountable
a short item or part of a broadcast program, such as a news report.
Grammar: Common in media contexts: a news segment, a segment on something.
Patterns
- a news segment
- a segment on something
The show ended with a short segment on local food banks.
She watched a segment about climate change on the evening news.
Word forms
| plural | segments |
|---|
Common combinations
- a segment of the market
- The company is targeting a younger segment of the market.
- line segment
- In geometry, a line segment has two endpoints.
- news segment
- The news segment lasted about three minutes.
- divide into segments
- The teacher asked us to divide the circle into equal segments.
- the target segment
- Adults aged 25–34 are the target segment for this app.
Synonyms and how they differ
- section
- Section is a general word for a part of something written, built, or organized; segment is more common for parts of a whole that are naturally divided or measured.
- part
- Part is the most general word; segment often suggests a clearly separated piece, especially in math, media, or business.
- portion
- Portion often refers to a share of food or an amount given to someone; segment is more about structure or division.
Word family
- segmented adjective
- Divided into separate parts, as in a segmented worm.
- segmentation noun
- The process of dividing something into segments, often used in marketing.
- segment verb
- To divide something into parts, as in 'segment the market.'
Commonly confused: the segment or section?
the segment vs section
A section is a part of a whole, often of a document or building; a segment is often a part of a line, a broadcast, or a market group.
Practice
The company plans to target a new ______ of the market: teenagers.
Choose one answer.
In business, 'segment of the market' is the standard phrase for a specific group of customers. 'Section' is a part of a document or place, and 'sector' usually means a whole industry area, not a subgroup.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “the segment”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.