country _noun

1-) an area of land that has its own government

ADJECTIVES

independent
・Malaysia has been an independent country since 1963.

home, native 
・After five years in the US, she returned to her home country, Japan.

foreign
・How many foreign countries have you visited?

rich, wealthy, prosperous 
・Germany is one of the richest countries in the world.

poor, developing 
・Many developing countries rely on foreign aid.

developed, industrialized, advanced
・Developed countries are responsible for most of the world’s pollution.

democratic
・In a democratic country, everyone has the right of free speech.

neighbouring, neighboring
・People are worried that the fighting could spread to neighbouring countries.

Western, European, African, Asian, etc.
・The president will be visiting four European countries.

Christian, Muslim, Catholic, etc.
・England became a Christian country in the seventh century.

adopted 
・She loved France, her adopted country.

NOUNS 

member
・There were talks between the member countries of the European Union.

host 
・They will meet to decide which will be the host country for the next World Cup.

mother 
・They want to go back to their mother country.

VERBS

rule, run, govern
・The country has been ruled by the same party for over 20 years.
・The government has been elected to run the country.

lead 
・She became the first woman to lead the country.

leave 
・Foreign journalists were given 24 hours to leave the country.

flee 
・At the outbreak of the war, many people fled the country.

serve 
・These soldiers have served their country bravely.

represent
・It is a great honour to represent your country in a sport.

betray
・Anyone who revealed this information would be betraying his country.

PREPOSITIONS

in, into 
・They are one of the top companies in the country.
・All travellers coming into the country need to fill in this form.

across, through 
・It took us three days to drive across the country.

throughout, across, around 
・The new bank has opened branches all across the country.

PHRASES

the country of origin 
・The fruit must be labelled with its country of origin.

countries around the world/globe
・She has worked in dozens of countries around the world.

the country as a whole 
・Bad weather is affecting the country as a whole.

it’s a free country
・You can say what you want – it’s a free country.

2-) a type of area

ADJECTIVES & NOUNS

farming, walking 
・This is farming country and all you see is mile after mile of agricultural land.

open 
・We left the city and headed towards the open country in the north.

wild 
・I love the wild country of the Scottish Highlands.

rough 
・Here, you need a vehicle specially designed for rough country.

mountain, mountainous 
・The town is on the edge of a vast stretch of mountain country.

PHRASES

a stretch/piece of country
・The new road will go right through this beautiful stretch of country.