Dorset

¹ American

[dawr-sit] / ˈdɔr sɪt /

noun

1st Earl of. Thomas Sackville.
Dorsetshire.

Dorset ² American

[dawr-sit] / ˈdɔr sɪt /

noun

an Indigenous culture that flourished from a.d. 100–1000 in the central and eastern regions of Arctic North America, preceding the Inuit culture.

Dorset British

/ ˈdɔːsɪt /

noun

a county in SW England, on the English Channel: mainly hilly but low-lying in the east: the geographical and ceremonial county includes Bournemouth and Poole, which became independent unitary authorities in 1997. Administrative centre: Dorchester. Pop (excluding unitary authorities): 398 200 (2003 est). Area (excluding unitary authorities): 2544 sq km (982 sq miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Dorset

After Cape Dorset in northern Canada

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Met Office said this season for Cornwall, Devon and Dorset ranks in the top five of the wettest winters since records began.

From BBC

Honey was discovered by rural crime officers on Monday during a visit to premises in west Dorset where they arrested a local man in his 30s.

From BBC

Josh Dury, from Bristol, photographed the phenomenon from a radar memorial in Worth Matravers, Dorset, on Tuesday just after 18:30 GMT.

From BBC

Landscape gardener Lee Claydon, 45, of Bournemouth, Dorset, died after the incident at the London venue on 2 August 2025.

From BBC

The dolphin-sized creature, named Xiphodracon goldencapensis and nicknamed the "Sword Dragon of Dorset," is the only known specimen of its species.

From Science Daily

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023