country
♦♦♦ coun|try /k'ʌntri/ (countries)
1 [N-COUNT]
A country is one of the political units which the world is divided into, covering a particular area of land.
Indonesia is the fifth most populous country in the world.
...that disputed boundary between the two countries...
Young people do move around the country quite a bit these days.
2 [N-SING] usu the N
The people who live in a particular country can be referred to as the country.
Seventy per cent of this country is opposed to blood sports.
3 [N-SING] the N
The country consists of places such as farms, open fields, and villages which are away from towns and cities.
...a healthy life in the country...
She was cycling along a country road near Compiegne...
= countryside
4 [N-UNCOUNT] supp N
A particular kind of country is an area of land which has particular characteristics or is connected with a particular well-known person.
Varese Ligure is a small town in mountainous country east of Genoa.
5 [N-UNCOUNT] usu N n
Country music is popular music from the southern United States.
...a famous country singer named Katie Cocker.
6 [PHRASE] v PHR
If you travel across country, you travel through country areas, avoiding major roads and towns.
From here we walked across country to Covington.
7 [PHRASE] v PHR
If you travel across country, you travel a long distance, from one part of a country to another.
We've just moved all the way across country to begin a new life.
8 [PHRASE] V inflects
If a head of government or a government goes to the country, they hold a general election. (BRIT)
The Prime Minister does not have to go to the country for another year.back coun|try
also backcountry
[N-SING] the N
The back country is an area that is a long way from any city and has very few people living in it. (AM)
They have moved deep into the back country.coun|try and west|ern
also country-and-western
[N-UNCOUNT] oft N n
Country and western is the same as country music.
...a successful country and western singer.coun|try club (country clubs)
[N-COUNT]
A country club is a club in the country where you can play sports and attend social events.coun|try cous|in (country cousins)
[N-COUNT]
If you refer to someone as a country cousin, you think that they are unsophisticated because they come from the country.coun|try danc|ing
[N-UNCOUNT]
Country dancing is traditional dancing in which people dance in rows or circles.coun|try house (country houses)
[N-COUNT]
A country house is a large, often attractive, house in the country, usually one that is or was owned by a rich or noble family. (BRIT)coun|try seat (country seats)
[N-COUNT]
A country seat is a large house with land in the country which is owned by someone who also owns a house in a town.
His family have a country seat in Oxfordshire.moth|er coun|try (mother countries)
also Mother Country
1 [N-COUNT] oft with poss
Someone's mother country is the country in which they or their ancestors were born and to which they still feel emotionally linked, even if they live somewhere else.
Dr Kengerli looks to Turkey as his mother country.
= motherland
2 [N-SING] usu the N
If you refer to the mother country of a particular state or country, you are referring to the very powerful country that used to control its affairs.
Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, had no colonial conflict with the mother country.
1 [N-COUNT]
A country is one of the political units which the world is divided into, covering a particular area of land.
Indonesia is the fifth most populous country in the world.
...that disputed boundary between the two countries...
Young people do move around the country quite a bit these days.
2 [N-SING] usu the N
The people who live in a particular country can be referred to as the country.
Seventy per cent of this country is opposed to blood sports.
3 [N-SING] the N
The country consists of places such as farms, open fields, and villages which are away from towns and cities.
...a healthy life in the country...
She was cycling along a country road near Compiegne...
= countryside
4 [N-UNCOUNT] supp N
A particular kind of country is an area of land which has particular characteristics or is connected with a particular well-known person.
Varese Ligure is a small town in mountainous country east of Genoa.
5 [N-UNCOUNT] usu N n
Country music is popular music from the southern United States.
...a famous country singer named Katie Cocker.
6 [PHRASE] v PHR
If you travel across country, you travel through country areas, avoiding major roads and towns.
From here we walked across country to Covington.
7 [PHRASE] v PHR
If you travel across country, you travel a long distance, from one part of a country to another.
We've just moved all the way across country to begin a new life.
8 [PHRASE] V inflects
If a head of government or a government goes to the country, they hold a general election. (BRIT)
The Prime Minister does not have to go to the country for another year.back coun|try
also backcountry
[N-SING] the N
The back country is an area that is a long way from any city and has very few people living in it. (AM)
They have moved deep into the back country.coun|try and west|ern
also country-and-western
[N-UNCOUNT] oft N n
Country and western is the same as country music.
...a successful country and western singer.coun|try club (country clubs)
[N-COUNT]
A country club is a club in the country where you can play sports and attend social events.coun|try cous|in (country cousins)
[N-COUNT]
If you refer to someone as a country cousin, you think that they are unsophisticated because they come from the country.coun|try danc|ing
[N-UNCOUNT]
Country dancing is traditional dancing in which people dance in rows or circles.coun|try house (country houses)
[N-COUNT]
A country house is a large, often attractive, house in the country, usually one that is or was owned by a rich or noble family. (BRIT)coun|try seat (country seats)
[N-COUNT]
A country seat is a large house with land in the country which is owned by someone who also owns a house in a town.
His family have a country seat in Oxfordshire.moth|er coun|try (mother countries)
also Mother Country
1 [N-COUNT] oft with poss
Someone's mother country is the country in which they or their ancestors were born and to which they still feel emotionally linked, even if they live somewhere else.
Dr Kengerli looks to Turkey as his mother country.
= motherland
2 [N-SING] usu the N
If you refer to the mother country of a particular state or country, you are referring to the very powerful country that used to control its affairs.
Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, had no colonial conflict with the mother country.