noun
bailiwick
Bailiwick (noun) means the area a bailie or bailiff has authority over.
noun
1
The area a bailie or bailiff has authority over.
2
A subject or activity that is someone's particular area of skill or responsibility.
"Jack is full of these insights, thoughtful turns of phrase from a character whose perpetual struggle between wastrel and righteous is all too familiar a bailiwick for the universal insecurities of the human condition."
— Alex McLevy, Marilynne Robinson finds transcendence in the stunning, soul-searching Jack (2020)
"This “feminist chortling” (as she calls it) about the disgraced royal is right in the bailiwick of the writer who virtually invented the term mansplaining."
— Zoe Williams, ‘A new world is being born’: author Rebecca Solnit on the ‘slow revolution’ the far right cannot tolerate (2026)
"I established the fairly well-understood pattern that affairs of state were not in my bailiwick."
— Eleanor Roosevelt, The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt (1961)
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Etymology
Formed from bailie (“bailiff”) and wick (“dwelling”), the latter from Old English wīc.
Synonyms
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Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of bailiwick?
"bailiwick" (noun) means the area a bailie or bailiff has authority over.
What is another word for bailiwick?
Other words for "bailiwick" include study, subject, discipline, field.
What are the different meanings of bailiwick?
"bailiwick" has 2 main meanings: 1. The area a bailie or bailiff has authority over; 2. A subject or activity that is someone's particular area of skill or responsibility.
