gerrymandering

noun

ger·​ry·​man·​der·​ing ˈjer-ē-ˌman-d(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce gerrymandering (audio)
 also  ˈger-;
 originally  ˈger-
: the practice of dividing or arranging a territorial unit into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage in elections
To an untrained eye, the proposed boundaries look like the etchings of a mapmaker on heavy pharmaceuticals. In reality, it's a masterpiece of diabolical gerrymandering.Carl Hiaasen
Bipartisan gerrymandering following the 2000 reapportionment produced hundreds of safe Democratic seats, hundreds of safe Republican seats, and not much else.Peter Beinart
compare cracking, packing

Examples of gerrymandering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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South Carolina officials appealed the lower court's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which threw out the racial gerrymandering ruling. Alex Thomas, Arkansas Online, 7 June 2025 What is racial gerrymandering, and what does the law say about it? Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 May 2025 Many of the speakers were public officials, including Mansfield Mayor Michael Evans, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross and Fort Worth District 6 council member Jared Williams, who called this redistricting plan racial gerrymandering. Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2025 If that were true, the courts could not have granted remedies for school segregation or racial gerrymandering. Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 15 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for gerrymandering

Word History

First Known Use

1812, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gerrymandering was in 1812

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Cite this Entry

“Gerrymandering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gerrymandering. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.

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