INDEX:
an area of the world, a country, a surface etc
1. an area of the world or a country
2. an area in or around a town or city
3. the area around a building or place
4. an area used for a particular purpose
5. a large area of land
6. an empty area
7. an area belonging to a country or person
8. an area that is part of a surface
an area of knowledge, activity, or responsibility
9. an area of knowledge, duties, study etc
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ SPACE
↑ PLACE
↑ LAND/GROUND
↑ COUNTRY
↑ TOWN
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1. an area of the world or a country
▷ area /ˈe ə riə/ [countable noun]
an area of land that is part of the world or part of a country :
▪ Police think the crime was committed by someone from outside the area.
area of
▪ There is a shortage of water in many areas of the world.
▪ Hannah grew up in a beautiful area of Ireland.
somebody’s area
the area where someone lives
▪ The cost of electricity has risen in our area.
▷ region /ˈriːdʒ ə n/ [countable noun]
a large area that is part of a country or of the world :
▪ There have been reports of fighting in the region.
region of
▪ For several years they lived in a remote region of Kenya.
▪ Severe winter weather is expected in the northeast region of the country.
▷ zone /zəʊn/ [countable noun]
an area that is in some way special or different from the areas around it, for example because it has a particular type of problem :
▪ San Francisco and Tokyo are both located in earthquake zones.
▪ Half of the community lies in a flood zone.
war/battle zone
▪ UN troops are unwilling to enter the battle zone.
▷ country /ˈkʌntri/ [uncountable noun]
an area of land that is of a particular type or that is used for a particular activity, lived in by particular people etc :
▪ The Midwest is largely farming country.
▪ Not many people live in the hill country any more.
▷ locality /ləʊˈkælɪti, ləʊˈkæləti/ [countable noun] formal
a small area of a country :
▪ In some localities the price of housing has risen by more than fifty percent in the last decade.
▪ The city council is responsible for providing police protection in each locality.
2. an area in or around a town or city
▷ area /ˈe ə riə/ [countable noun]
an area in or around a town or city :
area of
▪ The family lives in Roxbury, a working-class area of Boston.
poor/rich area
▪ Raul grew up in a poor area of Buenos Aires.
▷ district /ˈdɪstrɪkt/ [countable noun]
one of the areas that a town or city is officially divided into, or one of the areas of a town or city where a particular group of people live or a particular activity happens :
district of
▪ Their apartment is in the Chongwen district of Peking.
business/financial/historical etc district
▪ Blaine works in the financial district.
▷ neighbourhood British /neighborhood American /ˈneɪbəʳhʊd/ [countable noun]
one of the parts of a town or city :
▪ The Cranstons live in a very wealthy neighbourhood.
neighbourhood of
▪ I grew up in a quiet neighborhood of Birmingham.
in the neighbourhood/neighborhood
▪ Are there any good restaurants in the neighborhood?
▷ quarter /ˈkwɔːʳtəʳ/ [countable noun]
an area in a town or city that is lived in by people of a particular type or nationality :
quarter of
▪ We rented a house in the Creole quarter of New Orleans.
▪ The Dahdah palace is in the old Jewish quarter of Damascus.
▷ zone /zəʊn/ [countable noun]
part of a city that is officially divided from other parts because it is of a particular type :
residential/commercial zone
▪ This is a residential zone -- no commercial buildings are allowed.
pedestrian zone
a zone where cars, motorcycles etc are not allowed
▪ Most of the town centre is now a pedestrian zone.
▷ block /blɒkǁblɑːk/ [countable noun] especially American
a group of buildings in a city, with four streets around it - often used as a way of talking about distances in the city :
▪ She lived three blocks away from me when we were kids.
▪ Many of the families on our block are Hispanic-Americans.
▷ suburb /ˈsʌbɜːʳb/ [countable noun]
an area away from the centre of a city, where people live, especially an area where there are houses with gardens :
suburb of
▪ Amy teaches at a primary school in a suburb of Atlanta.
the suburbs
▪ My family moved to the suburbs when I was ten.
▷ precinct /ˈpriːsɪŋkt/ [countable noun] American
an area in an American town or city that is officially divided from other parts and that has its own police department etc :
▪ the fourteenth precinct
▪ The mayor has lost support in many precincts of the city.
3. the area around a building or place
▷ surroundings /səˈraʊndɪŋz/ [plural noun]
the objects, buildings, natural things etc that are around a building, around the place where you live, work etc :
▪ The house is set in beautiful surroundings near Lake Coniston.
▪ The mountaintop provides a spectacular view of Innsbruck and its surroundings.
▪ It took me a few weeks to get used to my new surroundings.
▷ surrounding area /səˌraʊndɪŋ ˈe ə riə/ [countable noun]
the area around a building, street, city etc :
▪ The city is not very attractive, but the surrounding area is lovely.
▪ Police are still searching the town and surrounding areas for the child.
4. an area used for a particular purpose
▷ area /ˈe ə riə/ [countable noun]
an area in a house, garden, office etc that is used for a particular purpose, although it is not completely separate :
▪ Their apartment has a large kitchen area.
▪ The boat has a sleeping area at one end.
smoking/non-smoking area
▪ There’s a smoking area behind the building.
▷ lot /lɒtÛlɑːt/ [countable noun] American
an area outdoors that is used for a particular purpose, for example selling a particular type of thing :
▪ The car stopped outside a used-car lot at the end of the street.
parking lot
for parking cars
5. a large area of land
▷ expanse /ɪkˈspæns/ [countable noun]
a large continuous area of land, water, or sky :
expanse of
▪ We traveled across a broad expanse of desert.
vast expanse
extremely large area
▪ the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean
▷ stretch /stretʃ/ [countable noun]
an area of land or water, especially one that is long and narrow :
stretch of
▪ an empty stretch of highway
▪ The stretch of coastline between Barcelona and the French border is called the Costa Brava.
▷ tract /trækt/ [countable noun usually plural]
a very large area of land of a particular type, for example, an area of forest or farming country :
vast/huge/large tracts of something
▪ Vast tracts of Brazilian rain forest continue to be cut down every year.
▪ There are large tracts of vacant land near the river, which could be used for farming.
6. an empty area
▷ space /speɪs/ [countable noun]
a small empty area which is available for you to sit down in, stand in, leave your car in, etc :
▪ There’s a space over there by the bar where we can sit down.
▪ I couldn’t find an empty space in the car park.
▷ clearing /ˈklɪ ə rɪŋ/ [countable noun]
a small empty area of land in the middle of a forest or wood, especially where the trees have been cut down :
▪ A small deer stood on the edge of the clearing.
▪ In the clearing, there was a small cottage.
▷ vacant lot /ˌveɪkənt ˈlɒtǁ-ˈlɑːt/ [countable noun] American
an empty outdoor area in a town or city where nothing has been built yet and that is not being used for any particular purpose at the moment :
▪ A bunch of kids were playing basketball in a vacant lot.
▪ With real estate prices rising, vacant lots in the area are selling for as much as $75,000.
7. an area belonging to a country or person
▷ territory /ˈterɪt ə ri, ˈterət ə riǁ-tɔːri/ [countable/uncountable noun]
an area that officially belongs to a particular country, or an area that a person, group, or animal controls and will defend against others :
▪ The island of Guam is a US territory.
▪ Many birds will attack other birds that enter their territory.
▪ a salesman’s territory
neutral territory
an area which no-one controls
▪ The negotiations will be held on neutral territory.
▷ turf /tɜːʳf/ [uncountable noun]
the area that a person or group controls and defends against anyone competing for it :
▪ Ten years ago the city was paralyzed by gang battles over turf.
▷ patch /pætʃ/ [countable noun usually singular] British informal
the area that someone controls or is responsible for :
▪ Detective McCready had taken over; he didn’t want us on his patch.
8. an area that is part of a surface
▷ area /ˈe ə riə/ [countable noun]
part of a surface that has a particular size or shape :
▪ There were several damp areas on the living room ceiling.
area of
▪ After an hour’s work, I had only cleaned a small area of the carpet.
▷ patch /pætʃ/ [countable noun]
a small area that is different from the parts around it :
▪ a white kitten with black patches
patch of
▪ I noticed a patch of dirt in the middle of the rug.
damp/dirty/icy etc patch
▪ The car hit an icy patch on the road and went out of control.
▷ spot /spɒtǁspɑːt/ [countable noun]
a small area that has been changed, especially because it is damaged or dirty, and looks different :
▪ Do you mind cleaning the grease spots behind the stove?
▪ Oh no, I’ve got a spot on my new shirt!
9. an area of knowledge, duties, study etc
▷ area /ˈe ə riə/ [countable noun]
an area of knowledge, activity, or responsibility :
▪ They fund research in areas like information technology.
area of
▪ The President has won new support because of his reforms in the areas of health and education.
▪ Nordstrom does research in the area of heart disease.
▷ field /fiːld/ [countable noun]
a subject or area of study, especially one that you know a lot about :
▪ Keith has a degree in engineering, but couldn’t find a job in his field.
the field
▪ Laycock is one of the most brilliant psychiatrists in the field.
field of
▪ There are good employment opportunities in the field of healthcare, particularly nursing.
▷ branch /brɑːntʃǁbræntʃ/ [countable noun]
one part of a large area of study or knowledge :
branch of
▪ Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics.
▪ He’s interested in the branch of international law that deals with war crimes.
▷ world /wɜːʳld/ [countable noun usually singular]
an area of activity or work - use this especially when talking about all the people who work in that area :
business/fashion/hi-tech etc world
▪ Jaffrii is now one of the richest and most successful men in the business world.
▪ the fashion world
the world of something
▪ the fast-paced world of technology
▷ domain /dəˈmeɪn, dəʊ-/ [countable noun] formal
an area of activity, interest, or knowledge to which something belongs :
▪ The abortion issue has shifted from the political to the religious domain.
male/female domain
▪ In the US, manual labor remains a male domain.
▷ realm /relm/ [countable noun] formal
a general area of thought, interest, or knowledge :
▪ the spiritual realm
the realm of something
▪ new discoveries in the realm of science
▷ sphere /sfɪəʳ/ [countable noun]
an area of activity, interest, knowledge etc, especially one that people consider should be respected or admired :
▪ Mitchell’s greatest achievements have been in the diplomatic sphere.
in scientific/political etc spheres
▪ She has a solid reputation in scientific spheres.