area vs territory

area

noun
  • A particular geographic region. 

  • Any particular extent of surface, especially an empty or unused extent. 

  • An open space, below ground level, giving access to the basement of a house, and typically separated from the pavement by railings. 

  • The extent, scope, or range of an object or concept. 

  • Genitals. 

  • A measure of the extent of a surface; it is measured in square units. 

  • Penalty box; penalty area. 

territory

noun
  • A geographic area that a person or organization is responsible for in the course of work. 

  • An area of subject matter, knowledge, or experience. 

  • A geographic area under control of a single governing entity such as state or municipality; an area whose borders are determined by the scope of political power rather than solely by natural features such as rivers and ridges. 

  • A market segment or scope of professional practice over which an organization or type of practitioner has exclusive rights. 

  • The part of the playing field or board over which a player or team has control. 

  • One of three of Australia's federated entities, located in the country's north and southeast, with fewer powers than a state and created by an act of Parliament rather than by the Constitution: Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory. 

  • A large extent or tract of land; for example a region, country or district. 

  • An area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against its conspecifics. 

  • A location or logical space which someone owns or controls. 

  • One of three of Canada's federated entities, located in the country's Arctic, with fewer powers than a province and created by an act of Parliament rather than by the Constitution: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. 

How often have the words area and territory occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )