noun
sect
sehkt
noun
1
A group with beliefs, especially religious ones, that differ from those of a larger group it split from.
"The sect had broken away from the main church decades earlier."
"Historians studied the rise of various religious sects in the region."
How to Use Sect
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA smaller group, usually religious, that has split off from a larger one over differing beliefs.
Common pairings
a religious sect
break away into a sect
Word Forms
sects plural
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The _____ had broken away from the main church decades earlier.
Etymology
From Old French "secte," from Late Latin "secta" ("a school of thought, faction"), possibly from Latin "sequi" ("to follow").