From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsectsect /sekt/ ●○○ noun [countable] RRRELIGIONa group of people with their own particular set of beliefs and practices, especially within or separated from a larger religious group → sectional
Examples from the Corpus
sect• One classificatory device that has been used frequently draws distinctions between church, denomination, and sect and cult.• One might almost say that each of the different sects corresponds to a different social group or class.• a fundamentalist sect• Many Kharijite sects advocated anarchy as a solution; getting rid of the leader came to be an acceptable tactic.• Islam has two main sects: the Sunnis and the Shias.• Shinto sanctuaries came under the control of this new sect, known also as Dualist Shintoism.• She is a member of a religious sect that was formed from various aspects of Asian religions.• He believes Dinah has either been murdered or is the prisoner of a religious sect.• This well-known story from Marco Polo's account dates from two hundred years after the sect had been crushed.• My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right...• All the others were from the sect hierarchy's lesser rank of Disciples.• A monk named Kashyapa is regarded as the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism.Origin sect (1300-1400) Old French secte “group, sect”, from Latin secta “way of life, type of people”, from sequi “to follow” 