Greece

IPA/ɡɹˈiːs/
KK[ɡrˈis]IPA/ɡrˈiːs/

Greece — noun

1. a southern European country on the Balkan Peninsula, with Athens as its capital

1.nounA1
Definition

a southern European country on the Balkan Peninsula, with Athens as its capital and thousands of islands in the Aegean and Ionian seas

Example

Piotr and his family visited Greece last summer and loved the beaches on Crete.

collocation: visit + [country]

The ancient ruins in Greece attract millions of tourists from around the world each year.

passive: attract [people] to [country]

Common collocations
  • visit Greece
  • in Greece
  • from Greece
  • ancient Greece
  • modern Greece
  • northern Greece
Synonyms
  • Hellenic Republic

    the official formal name of the country, used in legal and diplomatic documents

Usage Note

In modern contexts, 'Greece' is not used with the definite article 'the'. The article appears only in historical references ('the Greece of ancient times') or before modified names ('the Greece I remember').

Common Mistakes

She speaks Greece.
She speaks Greek.
'Greece' is the name of the country; 'Greek' is the name of the language.
I am from Greek.
I am from Greece.
Use 'Greece' for the country; 'Greek' is the nationality adjective or language.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Greece' is the everyday English name that learners need at A1 level for travel, news, and general conversation. 'Hellenic Republic' is the official state name used in government documents, treaties, and formal contexts — learners at C1 level may encounter it in news articles. 'Hellas' is the ancient Greek name (Ἑλλάς), rarely used in modern English except in poetic or historical writing. For everyday use, only 'Greece' is necessary.

Greece ↗Hellenic RepublicHellas

Common collocations

Nouns

  • the government of Greece
  • the history of Greece
  • the people of Greece
  • the islands of Greece

Phrases

  • ancient Greece
  • modern Greece
  • mainland Greece
  • northern Greece

Prepositions

  • in Greece
  • to Greece
  • from Greece
  • throughout Greece

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

The English name 'Greece' comes from the Latin 'Graecia', which the Romans used to refer to the land of the Greeks. The Latin word itself came from the Greek tribe name 'Graikoi' (Γραικοί). The Greeks themselves call their country 'Hellas' (Ελλάς) and themselves 'Hellenes'.