country (countries plural )
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 The people who live in a particular country can be referred to as thecountry.
usu the N
Seventy per cent of this country is opposed to blood sports.
3 n-sing The country consists of places such as farms, open fields, and villages which are away from towns and cities.
the N
(=countryside)
...a healthy life in the country..., She was cycling along a country road near Compiegne...
4 n-uncount A particular kind of country is an area of land which has particular characteristics or is connected with a particular well-known person.
supp N
Varese Ligure is a small town in mountainous country east of Genoa.
5 n-uncount Country music is popular music from the southern United States.
usu N n
...a famous country singer named Katie Cocker.
6 If you travel across country, you travel through country areas, avoiding major roads and towns.
across country phrase v PHR
From here we walked across country to Covington.
7 If you travel across country, you travel a long distance, from one part of a country to another.
across country phrase v PHR
We've just moved all the way across country to begin a new life.
8 If a head of government or a government goes to the country, they hold a general election. (BRIT)
go to the country phrase V inflects The Prime Minister does not have to go to the country for another year.
back country , backcountry
Theback country is an area that is a long way from any city and has very few people living in it.
(AM) n-sing the N
They have moved deep into the back country.
country and western , country-and-western
Country and western is the same as country music. n-uncount oft N n
...a successful country and western singer.
country club (country clubs plural )A country club is a club in the country where you can play sports and attend social events. n-count
country cousin (country cousins plural )If you refer to someone as a country cousin, you think that they are unsophisticated because they come from the country. n-count
country dancing
Country dancing is traditional dancing in which people dance in rows or circles. n-uncount
country house (country houses plural )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) n-count
country seat (country seats plural )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. n-count
His family have a country seat in Oxfordshire.
cross-country
1 n-uncount Cross-country is the sport of running, riding, or skiing across open countryside rather than along roads or around a running track.
oft N n
She finished third in the world cross-country championships in Antwerp.
2 adj A cross-country journey involves less important roads or railway lines, or takes you from one side of a country to the other.
ADJ n
...cross-country rail services...
Cross-country is also an adverb., adv ADV after v
I drove cross-country in his van.
mother country (mother countries plural ), Mother Country
1 n-count 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.
oft with poss
(=motherland)
Dr Kengerli looks to Turkey as his mother country.
2 n-sing 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.
usu the N
Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, had no colonial conflict with the mother country.
