United Kingdom
(redirected from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island)Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia.
United Kingdom
or United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Abbr. UK A country of western Europe comprising England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Beginning with the kingdom of England, it was created by three acts of union: with Wales (1536), Scotland (1707), and Ireland (1801). At the height of its power in the 1800s, it ruled an empire that spanned the globe. London is the capital and the largest city.
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.
United Kingdom
n
(Placename) a kingdom of NW Europe, consisting chiefly of the island of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland: became the world's leading colonial power in the 18th century; the first country to undergo the Industrial Revolution. It became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1921, after the rest of Ireland became autonomous as the Irish Free State. Primarily it is a trading nation, the chief exports being manufactured goods; joined the Common Market (now the European Union) in January 1973. Official language: English; Gaelic, Welsh, and other minority languages. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: pound sterling. Capital: London. Pop: 63 395 574 (2013 est). Area: 244 110 sq km (94 251 sq miles). Abbreviation: UK See also Great Britain
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Unit′ed King′dom
n.
a kingdom in NW Europe, consisting of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: formerly comprising Great Britain and Ireland 1801–1922. 59,113,439; 94,242 sq. mi. (244,086 sq. km). Cap.: London. Abbr.: U.K. Official name, Unit′ed King′dom of Great` Brit′ain and North′ern Ire′land.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. | United Kingdom - 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.
Translations
Spojené královstvíVelká Británie
det Forenede Kongerige
BritioBritujoUnuiĝinta Regno
Yhdistynyt kuningaskuntaIso-Britannia
Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo
Egyesült Királyság
英国連合王国イギリスグレートブリテンおよび北アイルランド連合王国
영국
Didžioji BritanijaJungtinė Karalystė
Združeno kraljestvo
Storbritannien och Nordirland
ประเทศสหราชอาณาจักรอังกฤษ
Vương quốc Anh
United Kingdom
n the United Kingdom → il Regno UnitoCollins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
United Kingdom
→ الـمَمْلَكَةُ الـمُتَّحِدَة Spojené království det Forenede Kongerige Vereinigtes Königreich Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο Reino Unido Yhdistynyt kuningaskunta / Iso-Britannia Royaume-Uni Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo Regno Unito 英国 영국 Verenigd Koninkrijk Storbritannia og Nord-Irland Zjednoczone Królestwo Reino Unido Соединенное Королевство Storbritannien och Nordirland ประเทศสหราชอาณาจักรอังกฤษ Birleşik Krallık Vương quốc Anh 英国Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009