Borough, << BUR oh, >> is a unit of local government. In several Eastern states of the United States, the word borough means simply an incorporated town. Alaska is divided into boroughs that are similar to counties but have greater control of their own affairs.
In the United Kingdom, a borough is a district that elects a member to Parliament. In early England, a borough was a walled town or fortified place. A rotten borough was a borough that had lost much of its population but still had representation in Parliament. A pocket borough was a borough controlled by a powerful or wealthy person.
