A cantonment (/kænˈtɒnmənt/, /kænˈtoʊnmənt/, or UK: /kænˈtuːnmənt/) is a military or police quarters.
The word cantonment derives from the French word meaning corner or district. and describes a place during a military campaign, such as winter quarters, where units of an army may be encamped for longer periods than they are during advances and retreats. The term shares an etymological origin with the Swiss Cantons though the meaning has widely diverged.
In South Asia, the term cantonment also describes permanent military stations. Cantonments can be found in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa,Singapore, Malaysia, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Nepal. In United States military parlance, a cantonment is an essentially permanent residential (i.e. barracks) section of a fort or other military installation such as Fort Hood.