area noun
1 part of place
ADJ. huge, large, vast, wide | small | local She knows the local area very well. | surrounding The storms hit Edinburgh and the surrounding area. | central | geographical | isolated, outlying, remote | rural | built up, inner-city, metropolitan, urban | industrial | residential | coastal, mountain | conservation | deprived people living in socially deprived areas
VERB + AREA live in | move into/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.
AREA + NOUN manager, office
PREP. in an/the ~ Few homes in the area had electricity. | outside an/the ~ I live outside the London area. | within an/the ~ | ~ around/round the area around London
2 space
ADJ. dining, lounge, reception | picnic, play | no smoking, smoking | penalty
PREP. in an/the ~ I'll meet you in the reception area.
3 subject/activity
ADJ. 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. | subject | grey The proposals contain too many grey areas (= aspects that are not clear).
VERB + AREA cover The course covers two main subject areas. | identify The primary need is to identify problem areas.
PREP. in an/the ~ There have been some exciting new developments in this area.
PHRASES an area of activity/life People with this disability can cope well in most areas of life. | an area of concern/difficulty We are generally pleased with how the scheme is operating but there are one or two areas of concern. | an area of interest/research/study
4 measurement
ADJ. large | small | total | floor, surface A large building with a floor area of 100m2.
VERB + AREA cover, have The estate covers an area of 106 acres.