From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdepartmentde‧part‧ment /dɪˈpɑːtmənt $ -ɑːr-/ ●●● S2 W1 noun [countable] 1 SSOPARTone of the groups of people who work together in a particular part of a large organization such as a hospital, university, company, or government the personnel department the English departmentdepartment of the Department of the Environment2 SHOP/STOREan area in a large shop where a particular type of product is sold the toy department3 → be somebody’s department4 spoken a particular part of someone’s character, or a particular part of a larger activity or subject Dave was lacking in the trustworthiness department. —departmental /ˌdiːpɑːtˈmentl◂ $ -ɑːr-/ adjective a departmental meetingCOLLOCATIONSNOUN + departmenta government departmentThe Home Office is the government department responsible for prisons.a university departmentUniversity departments are generally judged by their research quality.the Biology/Maths/History etc department (=in a university or school)the Chemistry department at Southampton Universitythe finance/marketing/design etc department (=in a company)He worked in the sales department of a small software company.the outpatient/casualty etc department (=in a hospital)I had to go to the physiotherapy department for treatment twice a week.department + NOUNa department headThese decisions are made by the department head.a department manager (=in a company)After two years, he was promoted to the job of department manager.a department official (=in a government department)a senior justice department officialdepartment staff (=people working in a department)All department staff will be affected by the new working hours.phrasesthe Department of Health/Trade/Education etc (=in a government)the U.S. Department of Agriculturea member of a department (=a person working in a department)All members of the Biology Department are actively committed to research.
Examples from the Corpus
department• From both departments he received information that might help free the Stone family from harassment.• A month later, he was forced to step down as dean of the dental department at the college.• The movie tries to be both a comedy and a drama, without success in either department.• She works in the Humanities department• Fred has some problems in the humor department.• At that time, Robert Kennedy was head of the Justice Department.• This should ideally consist of a period in each of the different sections of a local authority legal department.• Melissa is in charge of the Marketing Department.• Our department deals mainly with exports.• The move comes at a tense time for the Los Angeles police department.• As the record department was within my view from my balcony office, I generally kept away.• Vera works in the public relations department.• Ties are in the men's department.• Ellison is now head of the Department of Education.• the Department of Experimental Psychology• the Department of Motor Vehicles• the Department of Trade and Industry• All these departments provide a support service to the Group in their specialised fields.• It gets help in this department from a swirl of balsamic vinegar.• First runners up in the competition were Robert Fulton and John Cunningham, both from the weaving department.• Which department do you work in?From Longman Business Dictionarydepartmentde‧part‧ment /dɪˈpɑːtmənt-ɑːr-/ written abbreviation Dept., or dept. noun [countable]1ORGANIZATIONSone of the parts of a large organization such as a company or university where people do a particular kind of workShe heads the customer services department.the Department of Genetic Research → see also Banking Department2one of the parts that a government is divided into, which has a particular area of responsibilitythe Department of Employmentthe Justice Department3a part of a large shop that sells a particular type of productJoan works in the toy department.4one of the areas that some countries, for example France, are divided into5be somebody’s department spoken to be something that a particular person is responsible forUpdating the website isn’t really my department, ask Bill. 