- area
- noun1 part of placeADJECTIVE▪ huge, large, vast, wide▪ small▪ immediate, local▪
She knows the local area very well.
▪ surrounding▪The storms hit Boston and the surrounding area.
▪ central▪ geographical▪ isolated, outlying, remote, secluded▪We were in a secluded area far away from the rest of the school.
▪ rural▪ built-up, downtown (AmE), inner-city (BrE), metro (AmE, informal), metropolitan, suburban, urban, urbanized▪the widening economic gap between urban and rural areas
▪ industrial▪ residential▪ populated, unpopulated▪ coastal, forested, mountain, wilderness, wooded▪ low-lying, mountainous▪The storm surges have brought significant flooding to low-lying coastal areas.
▪ natural▪ conservation, protected, sensitive▪environmentally sensitive areas
▪ grassy▪ ski▪the Mount Sunapee ski area in New Hampshire
▪ deprived (esp. BrE)▪people living in socially deprived areas
▪ high-crime▪ disasterVERB + AREA▪ inhabit, live in▪ move into, move to▪A lot of new people have moved into the area recently.
▪ leave, move away from▪ cover▪ be scattered over, be spread over▪Wreckage from the plane was scattered over a large area.
▪ patrol▪Police patrol the area regularly.
▪ survey▪He slowly turned around, surveying the area.
▪ search▪Teams searched large areas on foot.
▪ visit▪Thousands of tourists visit the area every year.
▪ explore, tour▪I explored the area on my day off.
AREA + NOUN▪ manager, office▪ hospital, hotel, restaurant (all AmE)▪Search for area hotels on the website.
▪ code (= in a telephone number) (esp. AmE)PREPOSITION▪ in an/the area▪Few homes in the area had electricity.
▪ outside an/the area▪I live outside the metropolitan area.
▪ within an/the area▪ area around, area round (esp. BrE)▪the area around San Francisco
2 spaceADJECTIVE▪ dining, lounge, reception▪ picnic, play▪ waiting▪ seating▪ landing▪ storage▪Keep storage areas locked.
▪ outdoor▪The hotel has an outdoor area that rivals any Las Vegas hotel.
▪ no-smoking, smoking▪ VIP▪He was shown to a table in the VIP area.
▪ penalty (in football/soccer)▪ designated▪You can only smoke in designated areas.
▪ enclosed▪Do not use the spray in enclosed areas.
PREPOSITION▪ in an/the area▪I'll meet you in the reception area.
3 subject/activityADJECTIVE▪ broad▪ important, key, main▪ complex, difficult, problem, sensitive▪Taxation is a very complex area.
▪ growth▪The big growth area of recent years has been in health clubs.
▪ content, subject▪ grey/gray▪The proposals contain too many grey/gray areas (= aspects that are not clear).
VERB + AREA▪ cover▪The course covers two main subject areas.
▪ explore▪The research explores three areas.
▪ identify▪The primary need is to identify problem areas.
PREPOSITION▪ in an/the area▪There have been some exciting new developments in this area.
PHRASES▪ an area of activity, an area of life▪People with this disability can cope well in most areas of life.
▪ an area of concern, an area of difficulty▪We are generally pleased with the results but there are a few areas of concern.
▪ an area of interest, an area of research, an area of study4 measurementADJECTIVE▪ large▪ small▪ total▪ floor, surface▪A building with a floor area of 100 square feet.
VERB + AREA▪ cover, have▪The estate covers an area of 106 acres.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
