Noun

(en noun)

An administrative division of an area.

* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham)

, title=(The China Governess) , chapter=Foreword citation , passage=‘I understand that the district was considered a sort of sanctuary,’ the Chief was saying. ‘An Alsatia like the ancient one behind the Strand, or the Saffron Hill before the First World War. […]’}}

the Soho district of London

An area or region marked by some distinguishing feature.

the Lake District in Cumbria

(UK) An administrative division of a county without the status of a borough.

South Oxfordshire District Council

Noun

(en noun)

A grandiose and often lavish entrance.

* Milton

Thick with sparkling orient gems / The portal shone.

An entrance, entry point, or means of entry.

The local library, a portal of knowledge.

(Internet) A website that acts as an entrance to other websites on the Internet.

The new medical portal has dozens of topical categories containing links to hundreds of sites.

(anatomy) A short vein that carries blood into the liver.

(fiction) A magical or technological leading to another location, period in time or dimension.

(architecture) A lesser gate, where there are two of different dimensions.

(architecture) Formerly, a small square corner in a room separated from the rest of an apartment by wainscoting, forming a short passage to another apartment.

(bridge-building) The space, at one end, between opposite trusses when these are terminated by inclined braces.

A prayer book or breviary; a portass.