INDEX:
1. land that is owned by someone or is used for something
2. what you see in an area of land
3. the surface of the land
4. the land compared with the sea or air
5. the substance that forms the surface of the land
6. land at the edge of water
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ COUNTRY
↑ AREA
↑ ENVIRONMENT
↑ BEAUTIFUL (6)
◆◆◆
1. land that is owned by someone or is used for something
▷ land /lænd/ [uncountable noun]
land that is owned by someone or that can be used for farming or building houses :
▪ They moved to the country and bought some land.
▪ Get off my land!
piece/plot of land
▪ Each family was given a small piece of land where they could grow food for themselves.
farmland
land that can be used for farming
▪ There is a shortage of suitable farmland in the south of the country.
▷ territory /ˈterɪt ə ri, ˈterət ə riǁ-tɔːri/ [uncountable noun]
land that belongs to a country or that is controlled by a country during a war :
▪ Miller had accidentally crossed into Iraqi territory and was arrested for spying.
enemy territory
land controlled by an enemy
▪ His plane was shot down over enemy territory.
▷ territorial /ˌterɪˈtɔːriəl◂, ˌterəˈtɔːriəl◂/ [adjective only before noun]
relating to land that is owned or controlled by a particular country or government :
▪ A committee has been set up to deal with territorial disputes in the area.
▪ The country has suffered substantial territorial losses in this war.
▷ field /fiːld/ [countable noun]
an area of land that is part of a farm, or that is used for playing sports :
▪ We passed cows grazing in the fields.
▪ a football field
field of
▪ a field of wheat
playing field
British a field where sports are played
▪ We went out onto the school playing fields to watch a game of football.
open fields
▪ birds such as skylarks whose habitat is open fields and farmland
▷ the grounds /ðə ˈgraʊndz/ [plural noun]
the gardens and land around a big building such as a castle, school, or hospital :
▪ Have you ever been to Penryn Castle? The grounds are beautiful.
the palace/school/hospital grounds
▪ The nurse said I could go for a short walk around the hospital grounds.
2. what you see in an area of land
▷ landscape /ˈlændskeɪp/ [countable noun usually singular]
the land and features that you see around you in the countryside, or in the city :
▪ The construction of dams has changed the character of the landscape.
▪ an urban landscape of glittering modern buildings
▷ scenery /ˈsiːnəri/ [uncountable noun]
all the mountains, fields, forests etc that you see around you in the countryside, especially when these are beautiful :
▪ We stayed in a peaceful Alpine village surrounded by magnificent scenery.
3. the surface of the land
▷ ground /graʊnd/ [uncountable noun]
▪ The ground was covered with snow.
▪ He kicked Cook as he lay on the ground.
▪ In the middle of the forest was a bare patch of marshy ground.
▪ The ground sloped down from where we stood to the lake shore.
▷ terrain /teˈreɪn, tə̇-/ [uncountable noun]
used when you are talking about how easy or difficult an area of land is to cross, for example because it is flat, has a lot of mountains etc :
▪ The terrain on the island varies quite a bit.
difficult/rough/mountainous etc terrain
▪ They had to drive very slowly over the difficult terrain.
▪ Boots are the best footwear on rough terrain.
4. the land compared with the sea or air
▷ land /lænd/ [uncountable noun]
the land, not the sea :
on land
▪ They had defeated the enemy on land and at sea.
▪ Reptiles reproduce by laying eggs on land or giving birth to live young.
dry land
the land when compared with being at sea
▪ Some repairs to the boat will have to wait until we’re back on dry land.
▷ the ground /ðə ˈgraʊnd/ [singular noun]
the land, not the air - use this to talk about planes and birds :
▪ Our plane was flying only 100 feet above the ground.
▪ Spectators watched in horror as the aircraft plunged to the ground.
▷ ashore /əˈʃɔːʳ/ [adverb]
if you go ashore, you go on to the land from a boat or the sea. If you spend time ashore, you spend time on land before returning to your boat :
▪ Most of the other passengers had gone ashore.
▪ People were returning to their cabins after a day ashore.
be washed ashore
be pushed onto the land by the sea
▪ Two bodies were washed ashore last night.
5. the substance that forms the surface of the land
▷ earth /ɜːʳθ/ [uncountable noun]
the brown substance that the ground is made up of :
▪ Outside, the sun beat down on the red baked earth of Provence.
▪ Thousands of tons of earth were moved to build the dam.
▷ soil /sɔɪl/ [uncountable noun]
the earth that plants grow in :
▪ Roses do best in well-drained, slightly acid soil.
fertile soil
soil that plants grow well in
▪ Parsley should have a deep, moist, fertile soil for ideal growth.
▷ dirt /dɜːʳt/ [uncountable noun] American
loose dry earth :
▪ The kids were playing in the yard, digging in the dirt.
6. land at the edge of water
▷ the coast /ðə ˈkəʊst/ [singular noun]
the part of a country that is close to the sea - use this when you are talking about a country or a large part of a country :
▪ driving along the Californian coast, from San Francisco to LA
on the coast
on land that is close to the sea
▪ a little house on the coast of Brittany
off the coast
in the sea but close to the land
▪ They discovered oil off the northern coast of Scotland.
the coast of
▪ The ship slowly made its way along the west coast of Africa.
▷ the shore /ðə ˈʃɔːʳ/ [singular noun]
the land along the edge of the sea or along the edge of a lake :
▪ We could see a boat about a mile from the shore.
the shore of/the shores of
▪ a small town on the shores of Lake Ontario
▷ beach /biːtʃ/ [countable noun]
an area of sand at the edge of the sea - use this especially to talk about a place where you go to relax and enjoy yourself :
▪ The area has miles of unspoiled sandy beaches..
the beach
▪ By nine o'clock the beach was already crowded with people.
▪ Let’s go to the beach tomorrow.
▷ the seaside /ðə ˈsiːsaɪd/ [singular noun] British
a place at the edge of the sea - use this especially to talk about somewhere where you go for a holiday or to enjoy yourself :
▪ When I was little we used to go to the seaside most weekends.
▷ by the sea British /by the ocean American /baɪ ðə ˈsiː, baɪ ði ˈəʊʃ ə n/
on land next to the sea :
▪ We bought a small cottage by the sea.
▪ walking by the ocean in the early morning
▷ coastline /ˈkəʊstlaɪn/ [countable noun]
the edge of the land next to the sea - use this especially to talk about a long length of this land or the shape it makes, for example as seen from the air :
▪ The road follows the rugged coastline of northern France for nearly 100 miles.
▪ Environmentalists are concerned about possible damage to some of the most beautiful stretches of Welsh coastline.
▪ Far below us, we could just see the coastline of Argentina dimly outlined.