country

noun coun·try \ ˈkən-trē \

|Updated on: 16 Jun 2018

Examples: country in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of country

plural countries

1 : an indefinite usually extended expanse of land : region

miles of open country

2 a : the land of a person's birth, residence, or citizenship

left their country for America

b : a political state or nation or its territory

the country of Italy

3 a : the people of a state or district : populace

Most of the country voted to end the death penalty.

b : jury

c : electorate 2

The government will go to the country with this issue.

4 : rural as distinguished from urban areas

prefers the country to the city

5 : country music

6 geology : country rock 2

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countryish

play \ˈkən-trē-ish\ adjective

See country defined for English-language learners

See country defined for kids

Examples of country in a Sentence

The two countries have a lot in common.
They drove across the country from California to New York.
They are living in different parts of the country.
The whole country was stunned by the news.
The President has the support of most of the country.
He moved to the north country to fish and hunt.
We went camping in the hill country.
They drove through miles of open country.
She lives out in the country.
They prefer the country to the city.

Recent Examples of country from the Web

Among industrialized countries, our nation has the highest rate of infant deaths.

— danielle jackson, Longreads, "A Frustrating Year of Reporting on Black Maternal Health," 14 June 2018
And, for good measure, Trump blamed the Bush clan for not keeping the country safe on Sept. 11, 2001, repeatedly called Cruz a nutty liar, speculated about Rubio’s nerves and lashed out at former President Bill Clinton.

— philip elliott, Time, "South Carolina Elections Show Trump Can Hurt. But Can He Still Help?," 14 June 2018
Senator Ben Bruce said the country could have made $100 million if the kit was made in Nigerian factories.

— stephanie busari, cnn and damilola odutayo, CNN, "It's official! Nigeria is the most stylish team at the World Cup," 13 June 2018
That’s because this bit of SR 99 is more than the hemisphere’s largest-diameter bored tunnel and the country’s longest roadway tunnel outside of Alaska, much of it dug by Bertha, formerly the planet’s largest boring machine.

— tim newcomb, WIRED, "The Brilliant Vigilance of Seattle's Gargantuan New Tunnel," 13 June 2018
The contours of his tragedy, as with many of the Shakespeare’s doomed characters, are startlingly familiar at a time when Americans are deeply divided over the fate of the country and its people.

— walt hunter, The Atlantic, "When Hamlet Starts Showing Up in Federal Court," 13 June 2018
The country has rallied together, with public opinion polling showing there’s wide support for Canada’s retaliatory tariffs against the steel and aluminum duties that will kick in for some U.S. goods on July 1.

— josh wingrove, Bloomberg.com, "Support at Home Helps Trudeau Stay the Course After Trump’s Threats," 13 June 2018
Tag: Comedy about a group of adults who play an annual game of tag that takes them all over the country.

— walter addiego, San Francisco Chronicle, "Movies opening Friday, June 14," 13 June 2018
This is the fifth time the Northern African country has failed to win a World Cup hosting vote.

— dave quinn, PEOPLE.com, "U.S., Mexico and Canada Will Jointly Host the 2026 Soccer World Cup," 13 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'country.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The English word country is derived from Latin contra, which means “against” or “on the opposite side.” In Medieval Latin the noun contrata was formed from contra. Contrata was literally “that which is situated opposite the beholder.” But that which is opposite the beholder is just what he or she sees. So contrata meant “landscape.” It also came to mean “expanse of land, region.” This was the original meaning of English country, which over the years has itself developed a number of new meanings.

Origin and Etymology of country

Middle English contree, from Anglo-French cuntree, contré, from Medieval Latin contrata, from Latin contra against, on the opposite side

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 2a

See Words from the same year

country Synonyms

Synonyms

commonwealth, land, nation, sovereignty (also sovranty), state;

Related Words

city-state, ministate, nation-state;

domain, dominion, empire, kingdom, realm, republic;

democracy, dictatorship, monarchy, monocracy, oligarchy, sovereign (also sovran), theocracy;

fatherland, homeland, motherland;

great power, power, sea power, superpower, world power;

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

country

adjective

Definition of country

1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of the country

country living

2 a : of or relating to a decorative style associated with life in the country

an English country look

; also : possessing a style of rustic simplicity

country furniture

b : prepared or processed with farm supplies and procedures

country ham

3 : of, relating to, suitable for, or featuring country music

country singers

See country defined for English-language learners

Examples of country in a Sentence

plain country living among unpretentious people

Origin and Etymology of country

see ¹country

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

country Synonyms

Other Ecology Terms

Malthusian, anthropogenic, biomass, carbon footprint, crepuscular, niche, sere, symbiosis, taiga, tundra

COUNTRY Defined for English Language Learners

country

noun

Definition of country for English Language Learners

: an area of land that is controlled by its own government
the country : the people who live in a country
: an area or region that has a particular quality or feature or is known for a particular activity.