a system of means and activities whereby a social institution functions; "the complex machinery of negotiation"; "the machinery of command labored and brought forth an order"
the extended spatial location of something; "the farming regions of France"; "religions in all parts of the world"; "regions of outer space"
a large indefinite location on the surface of the Earth; "penguins inhabit the polar regions"
the approximate amount of something (usually used prepositionally as in `in the region of'); "it was going to take in the region of two or three months to finish the job"; "the price is in the neighborhood of $100"