Meaning of country in English

country

noun

/ˈkʌn.tri/ us

/ˈkʌn.tri/

country noun (POLITICAL UNIT)

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A1 [ C ]

an area of land with fixed borders that has full or limited control over its own government and laws:

What is the largest country in the world?

Wales is the only country in the world with a footpath spanning its entire coastline.

The climate is cooler in the east of the country.

native country Sri Lanka is my native country, but I've been living in Belgium for the past five years.

the country

all the people who live in a country:

The whole country celebrated the signing of the peace treaty.

Compare

land noun (COUNTRY) literary
nation
nation state
sovereign state
state noun (COUNTRY)
territory (AREA)

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After ten years of military dictatorship, the country now has a civil government.
French cheeses are exported to many different countries.
The Arab countries include Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Egypt.
The government has done little or nothing to help the poorest people in this country.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Countries, nationalities & continents: country & nation

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country noun (NATURAL LAND)

A2 [ S or U ]

land that is not in towns, cities, or industrial areas and is either used for farming or left in its natural condition:

in the country He lives out in the country somewhere.

Would you prefer to live in the country instead of a town?

[ before noun ] Country life isn't always as peaceful as city dwellers think.

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We would dearly love to sell our flat and move to the country.
Five soldiers died after their bus was ambushed on a country road.
They have a house in the country and a flat in London.
I found not having a car quite a handicap when I was living in the country.
We spent a luxurious weekend at a hotel in the country.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Towns & regions: the countryside

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country noun (PARTICULAR AREA)

[ U ]

an area of land considered in relation to a particular feature:

Stratford-upon-Avon is the capital of Shakespeare country.

The empty roads make this area good cycling country.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Geography: areas of land in general

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country noun (MUSIC)

[ U ]

short form of country music

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Folk & ethnic music

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Grammar

Geographical places

We use the before the names of rivers. We usually write the without a capital letter. If we use the word river, we usually write it without a capital letter: the river Thames, the river Severn, the Yangtze river. …

Nationalities, languages, countries and regions

When we refer to a nation or region, we can use: …

Idioms

across country

go to the country

(Definition of country from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

country | American Dictionary

country

noun

/ˈkʌn·tri/

country noun (POLITICAL UNIT)

Add to word list Add to word list

[ C ]

an area of land that forms an independent political unit with its own government; a nation considered esp. as a place:

Cuba is my native country, but I now live in Florida.

country noun (NATURAL LAND)

[ U ]

land that is not in towns, cities, or industrial areas and is either used for farming or left in its natural condition:

I’m spending next weekend in the country with a friend.

(Definition of country from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of country

country

I think there are encouraging developments in technology that are permitting developed countries to 'do more with less', and increasing incentives to do so.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Although many countries are planning to privatise, there has been little research into the effects of water privatisation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The government needed professional and politically-minded staff to take on the planned political development of the country over the long haul.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Qualitative interviews were made with 46 respondents who spent at least three months per year in each country.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The citizens of the country constitute an organic whole, which is integrated by the general will of the masses.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

They are more physically immature than their peers of the same age in highly developed countries.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

On the other hand, such policies have provoked grassroot activism and stimulated senior organisations in quite a few countries.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Economic returns from these projects may provide a strong incentive for such countries to participate.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

All of these countries reported having government regulations to protect patient-level data.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Other nationalities are also represented, from more than 30 other countries.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It was most significant from the reported participation from over 25 countries worldwide that there is a great interest in the development of such methodologies.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Communist parties held a monopoly of power in communist countries.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Taking the campaign to some parts of the country proved especially difficult for parties without a presence in those areas.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The country has experienced considerable policy and political change over the past decades.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The country's general policy direction over the past ten years is not in question.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with country

country

These are words often used in combination with country.

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adopted country

These figures were closely involved in the debates in their adopted country.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

advanced country

In this circumstance, it would not be incorrect to say that the least advanced country is the one harmed by trade.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

backward country

We are almost the most backward country in the extension of our telephone system.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

See all collocations with country

What is the pronunciation of country?

Translations of country

in Chinese (Traditional)

政治單位, 國家, 國土…

Meaning of country in English

country noun (POLITICAL UNIT)

country noun (NATURAL LAND)

country noun (PARTICULAR AREA)

country noun (MUSIC)

Grammar

Idioms

country | American Dictionary

country noun (POLITICAL UNIT)

country noun (NATURAL LAND)

Examples of country

Collocations with country

country

Translations of country

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