(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
An ~ is a particular part of a town, a country, a region, or the world.
...the large number of community groups in the ~...
60 years ago half the French population still lived in rural ~s.
N-COUNT
2.
Your ~ is the part of a town, country, or region where you live. An organization’s ~ is the part of a town, country, or region that it is responsible for.
Local authorities have been responsible for the running of schools in their ~s...
If there is an election in your ~, you should go and vote.
N-COUNT: poss N
3.
A particular ~ is a piece of land or part of a building that is used for a particular activity.
...a picnic ~.
...the main check-in ~ located in Terminal 1.
N-COUNT: supp N
4.
An ~ is a particular place on a surface or object, for example on your body.
You will notice that your baby has two soft ~s on the top of his head.
N-COUNT: with supp
5.
The ~ of a surface such as a piece of land is the amount of flat space or ground that it covers, measured in square units.
The islands cover a total ~ of 625.6 square kilometers...
N-VAR
6.
You can use ~ to refer to a particular subject or topic, or to a particular part of a larger, more general situation or activity.
...the politically sensitive ~ of old age pensions.
N-COUNT: usu with supp
7.
On a football pitch, the ~ is the same as the penalty ~ . (INFORMAL)
= box
N-COUNT: usu sing, the N
8.
see also catchment ~ , disaster ~ , grey ~ , penalty ~