Britain
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Brit·ain
(brĭt′n)1. The island of Great Britain during pre-Roman, Roman, and early Anglo-Saxon times before the reign of Alfred the Great (871-899). The name is derived from Britannia, which the Romans used for the portion of the island that they occupied.
2. Abbr. Br. or Brit. See United Kingdom.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Britain
(ˈbrɪtən)n
(Placename) another name for Great Britain, United Kingdom
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Great` Brit′ain
n.
an island of NW Europe, separated from the mainland by the English Channel and the North Sea: comprising England, Scotland, and Wales. 55,780,000; 88,790 sq. mi. (229,979 sq. km). Compare United Kingdom.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Britain
– British – Briton1. 'Britain'
Britain or Great Britain consists of England, Scotland, and Wales. The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The British Isles refers to Britain, Ireland, and all the smaller islands around the coast.
2. 'British'
The nationality of someone from the United Kingdom is British, although some people prefer to call themselves English, Scottish, Welsh, or Northern Irish. It is incorrect and may cause offence to call all British people 'English'.
You can refer to all the people who come from Britain as the British.
I don't think the British are good at hospitality.
The British have always displayed a healthy scepticism towards ideas.
The British can also be used to refer to a group of British people, for example the British representatives at an international conference.
The British have made these negotiations more complicated.
The British had come up with a bold and dangerous solution.
3. 'Briton'
In writing, an individual British person can be referred to as a Briton.
The youth, a 17-year-old Briton, was searched and arrested.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
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| Noun | 1. | Britain - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom clanger - a conspicuous mistake whose effects seem to reverberate; "he dropped a clanger" clawback - finding a way to take money back from people that they were given in another way; "the Treasury will find some clawback for the extra benefits members received" lucky dip - a selection or decision purely at random; "their system of hiring people seemed to be a sort of lucky dip" flit - a secret move (to avoid paying debts); "they did a moonlight flit" rustication - temporary dismissal of a student from a university perambulation - a walk around a territory (a parish or manor or forest etc.) in order to officially assert and record its boundaries fare-stage - a section along the route of a bus for which the fare is the same pony-trekking - a sport in which people ride across country on ponies fives - a game resembling handball; played on a court with a front wall and two side walls bar billiards, bagatelle - a table game in which short cues are used to knock balls into holes that are guarded by wooden pegs; penalties are incurred if the pegs are knocked over tombola - a lottery in which tickets are drawn from a revolving drum ludo - a simple board game in which players move counters according to the throw of dice shove-halfpenny, shove-ha'penny, shovel board - a game in which coins or discs are slid by hand across a board toward a mark lucky dip - a game in which prizes (e.g., candies or coins) are concealed in a container and for a small sum a player can draw one out at random piss-up - vulgar expression for a bout of heavy drinking rag - a boisterous practical joke (especially by college students) hornpipe - a British solo dance performed by sailors panto - an abbreviation of pantomime doddle - an easy task minister - the job of a head of a government department headship - the position of headmaster or headmistress costing - cost accounting 11-plus, eleven-plus - (formerly in Britain) an examination taken by 11 and 12 year old students to select suitable candidates for grammar school swiz - British slang for a swindle Ministry of Transportation test, MOT test, MOT - a compulsory annual test of older motor vehicles for safety and exhaust fumes fire watching - (during World War II in Britain) watching for fires started by bombs that dropped from the sky snogging - (British informal) cuddle and kiss zizz - a nap; "Arthur's taking a short zizz" dekko - British slang for a look square-bashing - drill on a barracks square rub up - a review that refreshes your memory; "I need a rub up on my Latin" shufti - a quick look around (originally military slang); "take a shufti while you're out there" lie-in - a long stay in bed in the morning point duty - the control of traffic by a policeman stationed at an intersection national assistance, social assistance, supplementary benefit - benefits paid to bring incomes up to minimum levels established by law boot sale, car boot sale - an outdoor sale at which people sell things from the trunk of their car invigilation - keeping watch over examination candidates to prevent cheating aggro - (informal British usage) aggravation or aggression; "I skipped it because it was too much aggro" punch-up - a fistfight; "the quarrel ended in a punch-up" go-slow - a form of protest by workers in which they deliberately slow down in order to cause problem from their employers Battle of Britain - the prolonged bombardment of British cities by the German Luftwaffe during World War II and the aerial combat that accompanied it arterial road - a major or main route backbench - any of the seats occupied by backbenchers in the House of Commons bar - a heating element in an electric fire; "an electric fire with three bars" betting shop - a licensed bookmaker's shop that is not at the race track bin liner - a plastic bag used to line a trash or garbage bin boot - British term for the luggage compartment in a car bottle bank - a place where bottles can be deposited for recycling caff - informal British term for a cafe carriageway - one of the two sides of a motorway where traffic travels in one direction only usually in two or three lanes clearway - a road on which you are not allowed to stop (unless you have a breakdown) |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Britain
noun the UK, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, the British Isles, Blighty (Brit. informal) the volume of visitors to Britain
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
Británie
Storbritannien
Britannia
Britanija
ブリテン英国
영국
BritanniëGroot-Brittannië
Storbritannien
ประเทศสหราชอาณาจักรอังกฤษ
Vương Quốc Anh
Britain
[ˈbrɪtən] N (also Great Britain) → Gran Bretaña f; (loosely) → Inglaterra fBRITAIN
A veces se usa el término England para referirse a la totalidad del país, aunque no es un término usado con precisión; sin embargo, mucha gente confunde a menudo los nombres Britain, Great Britain, United Kingdom y British Isles.
Se denomina Great Britain a la isla que comprende Inglaterra, Escocia y Gales. Desde el punto de vista administrativo, el término también incluye las islas menores cercanas, a excepción de la Isla de Man (Isle of Man) y las Islas Anglonormandas o Islas del Canal de la Mancha (Channel Islands).
United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), o UK, es la unidad política que comprende Gran Bretaña e Irlanda del Norte.
British Isles es el término geográfico que abarca Gran Bretaña, Irlanda, la Isla de Man y las Islas Anglonormandas. En lo político, el término comprende dos estados soberanos: el Reino Unido y la República de Irlanda.
El término Britain se utiliza fundamentalmente para referirse al Reino Unido, y en algunas ocasiones también a la isla, a Gran Bretaña.
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Britain
[ˈbrɪtən] n → Grande-Bretagne fin Britain → en Grande-Bretagne
to Britain → en Grande-Bretagne
I'm from Britain → Je suis britannique
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Britain
n → Großbritannien nt; (in ancient history) → Britannien nt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
Britain
→ بَريطانِيَا Británie Storbritannien Großbritannien Βρετανία Bretaña, Gran Bretaña Britannia Grande-Bretagne Britanija Gran Bretagna 英国 영국 Groot-Brittannië Storbritannia Brytania Grã-Bretanha Британия Storbritannien ประเทศสหราชอาณาจักรอังกฤษ İngiltere Vương Quốc Anh 英国Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009