AREA


Meaning of AREA in English

ar ‧ e ‧ a S1 W1 AC /ˈeəriə $ ˈeriə/ BrE AmE noun [countable]

[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: 'piece of flat ground' ]

1 . a particular part of a country, town etc:

Only cheeses made in this area may be labelled ‘Roquefort.’

Crime rates are much higher in urban areas.

area of

Many areas of Africa have suffered severe drought this year.

2 . a part of a house, office, garden etc that is used for a particular purpose:

a no-smoking area

Their apartment has a large kitchen area.

Come through into the dining area.

the reception area of the hotel

a storage area on the ground floor

3 . a particular subject, range of activities, or group of related subjects:

The course covers three main subject areas.

This study has clearly identified a major problem area for the National Health Service.

We’re funding research into new areas such as law enforcement technology.

area of

reforms in the key areas of health and education

4 . the amount of space that a flat surface or shape covers

area of

an area of 2,000 square miles

a formula to calculate the area of a circle

⇨ grey area at ↑ grey 1 (7)

• • •

COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + area

▪ a rural area (=in the countryside)

Schools in rural areas are often very small.

▪ an urban area (=in a town or city)

90% of the English population live in urban areas.

▪ a remote/isolated area (=a long way from towns and cities)

a remote area of northeast Afghanistan

▪ the local area

He quickly made friends in the local area.

▪ the surrounding area (=the area around a place)

The tourist office will have a map of the surrounding area.

▪ outlying areas (=far from the centre of a town, village etc)

The programme also includes plans to reforest outlying areas of the city.

▪ a wooded area

The plane crashed into trees in a heavily wooded area.

▪ a mountainous area

the mountainous areas of the Massif Central

▪ a coastal area

The bird is found mainly in coastal areas.

▪ a desert area

The hot, dry wind blows in from the desert areas of North Africa.

▪ a residential area (=a part of a town where people live)

They had a large house in a pleasant residential area.

▪ an industrial area

People living in industrial areas are exposed to these types of chemicals.

▪ a built-up area (=with a lot of buildings close together)

New development will not be allowed outside the existing built-up area.

▪ a deprived area (=where many poor people live)

He grew up in one of the toughest and most deprived areas of Glasgow.

▪ an inner-city area (=the central part of a city, where many poor people live)

When will something be done to improve our inner-city areas?

▪ a middle-class/working-class etc area (=where a particular class of people live)

She was born in a working-class area of London.

▪ a metropolitan area (=a very large city)

major metropolitan areas such as Delhi, Bombay, and Calcutta

▪ a conservation area (=for preserving nature or old buildings)

a new scheme to create a nature conservation area

▪ a geographical area (=one that is shown on a map)

The survey took place in three geographical areas.

■ verbs

▪ move into/out of an area

She had just moved into the area and knew very few people.

|

Many young people are moving out of rural areas.

▪ keep/stay away from an area

The police ordered people to stay away from the area.

▪ be spread out over a wide area

The town is spread out over a wide area.

▪ be scattered over a wide area

Parts of the plane were scattered over a wide area.

• • •

COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + area

▪ the kitchen/dining/bedroom/bathroom area

The kitchen area is rather small.

▪ the living area (=the main room in a house, where people relax)

The main living area was on the second floor.

▪ a reception area (=a desk where visitors arriving in a hotel or large organization go first)

Visitors should please report to the reception area.

▪ a storage area (=a place for keeping things that are not being used)

There’s a temporary storage area where you can put those boxes.

▪ a picnic area (=an area outdoors where you can eat a meal)

We pulled off the highway into a picnic area for lunch.

▪ a play area (=a place for children to play)

There’s a nice play area for the kiddies.

▪ a no-smoking/non-smoking area

The airport terminal is a no-smoking area.

▪ a smoking area

Employers do not have to provide smoking areas.

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ area a part of a town or country, or of the world:

They live in a very wealthy area.

|

coastal areas

▪ region a large area of a country or the world:

the northwest region of Russia

|

desert regions

▪ zone an area that is different from other areas around it in some way:

a war zone

|

a no-parking zone

|

We crossed two different time zonesareas where there is a particular time compared to the rest of the world.

▪ district one of the areas a city or town is officially divided into, or an area of a city where a particular group live or an activity happens:

the Chelsea district of Manhattan

| the business/financial/theatre etc district :

the financial district of London

▪ neighbourhood British English , neighborhood American English /ˈneɪbəhʊd $ -ər-/ an area of a town where people live:

a friendly neighbourhood

|

There are lots of trees in our neighborhood.

▪ suburb an area outside the centre of a city, where people live:

a suburb of Boston

▪ quarter an area of a town or city where people of a particular nationality live:

the French quarter of New Orleans

▪ slum an area of a city that is in very bad condition, where many poor people live:

He grew up in the slums of East London.

▪ ghetto an area of a city where poor people of a particular race or class live:

a black baby born in the ghetto

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.