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