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noun area of land with its own government ADJ. beautiful, fascinating, great this great country of ours | hot, tropical | temperate | cold | foreign, overseas, strange It's difficult to live in a foreign country when you don't speak the language. students from overseas countries What must it be like, to grow old in a strange country? | home, native | adopted Many refugee servicemen gave their lives for their adopted country. | host The refugees do jobs that workers in the host country refuse to do. | neighbouring | distant, far, faraway | independent | occupied | free ‘It's a free country!’ he shouted. ‘I can do what I like.’ | enemy, friendly | neutral, non-aligned | Arab, African, etc. | Eastern, Western, etc. | Anglophone, English-speaking, etc. | EU, NATO, etc. | member, non-member OECD member countries | developed, industrial/industrialized | developing, Thirld World, underdeveloped industrially backward countries | advanced economically advanced countries | backward | low-income, poor | affluent, rich | capitalist, communist, democratic, socialist | Catholic, Muslim, etc. | oil-exporting, oil-producing VERB + COUNTRY govern, rule, run The country was ruled by a brutal dictatorship. the politicians who run the country | lead He accused the government of leading the country to disaster. | divide, split The issue of the single currency has divided the country. | flee, leave The former president has been forced to flee the country. | serve | love He loved his country deeply. | betray | play for, represent She represented her country at the Sydney Olympics. | tour, travel, visit He travelled the country on his motorbike. COUNTRY + VERB border sth countries bordering the Black Sea | export sth, import sth The country exports around 80% of its output. | agree sth, sign sth The two countries signed a basic treaty of cooperation. PREP. across a/the ~ travelling across the country | all over a/the ~ They are holding special events all over the country. | around/round a/the ~ This is just one of 30 sites around the country. | in a/the ~ people who live in this country | throughout a/the ~ New schools are being built throughout the country. PHRASES country of origin All goods must be clearly labelled with their country of origin. | a part of a country There will be rain in many parts of the country tomorrow. | the country as a whole The rich benefited from the reforms, not the country as a whole. area of land with particular features ADJ. desert, hill/hilly, mountain/mountainous, open, wooded The village is surrounded by miles and miles of open country. | rough, wild | farming This part of Africa is rich farming country. | hunting, walking superb walking country QUANT. stretch, tract a beautiful stretch of country Whole tracts of country, once fertile, have become arid. land away from towns/cities COUNTRY + NOUN life | air | lane, road | area, district | town, village | cottage, estate, home, house, mansion, residence, retreat, seat | park | walk | boy, girl | gentleman, squire | dweller, folk, people PREP. across ~ riding across country | in the ~ She lives in the country.
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country ADJECTIVES/NOUN + country a foreign country (= not your own country ) • Have you ever worked in a foreign country? a strange country (= not your own country ) • She was in a strange country, with no friends and no family. a European/African/Asian etc country • The President will be visiting four European countries. a democratic/capitalist/communist etc country • the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe your home/native country (= where you were born or live permanently ) • After five years in America, she returned to her home country, Japan. a developing/Third World country (= poor and trying to increase its industry and trade ) • Many developing countries receive some foreign aid. a developed country (= rich and where most people have a comfortable life ) • Developed countries are responsible for most emissions of carbon dioxide. an underdeveloped country (= poor and developing more slowly than others ) • The disease still exists, mainly in underdeveloped countries. an industrialized country • America and other industrialized countries an advanced country • technologically advanced countries such as Japan a Christian/Muslim/Catholic etc country • England became a Christian country in the seventh century. your adopted country (= that you have chosen to live in permanently ) • I felt proud of my adopted country, America. a great country (= important, with many past achievements ) • the great countries of Europe an independent country (= not controlled by another country ) • Malaysia has been an independent country since 1963. an occupied country (= controlled by an army from another country ) • For many years, Egypt was an occupied country. a free country (= where people’s actions are not too restricted ) • You can go where you like – it’s a free country. a member country (= belonging to a particular international organization ) • the member countries of the European Community the host country (= where an event is held ) • Which is the host country for the next Olympic Games? verbs run/govern the country (= officially control a country ) • The government has the job of running the country. rule a country (= have complete control of a country ) • For a long time the country was ruled by military dictators. leave the country • The journalists were given 24 hours to leave the country. flee the country (= leave it very quickly to avoid trouble ) • At the outbreak of the war, many people fled the country. serve your country (= work for your country in an official way ) • Remember those who are serving our country as soldiers, sailors, and airmen. lead the country • She became the first woman to lead the country. represent your country • It’s a great honour to be chosen to represent your country in a sport. betray your country (= be disloyal, especially by giving secrets to other countries ) • He betrayed his country for the sake of communism. phrases sb’s/sth’s country of origin (= where you were born or live permanently, or where something was produced ) • Please give your name, age, and country of origin. country 2 ADJECTIVES/NOUN + country open country (= away from towns, and with few buildings, walls, trees etc ) • We left the city and headed towards the open country in the north. wild country (= not used or farmed by people ) • I love the wild country of the Scottish Highlands. rough country (= difficult to travel over ) • a vehicle especially designed for rough country farming/walking/riding etc country • To the east is an area of rich farming country. mountain/mountainous country • a vast stretch of mountain country hill/hilly country • He grew up in Texas hill country. wooded country (= with a lot of trees ) • They escaped through hilly, wooded country. desert country • Not much grows in this desert country.