Meaning & use
kingdom
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Meanings
nouncountable
A country or territory ruled by a king or queen.
Grammar: Countable: a kingdom, two kingdoms. The United Kingdom is a proper noun.
Patterns
- the kingdom of something
- rule a kingdom
The small kingdom lay between two mountain ranges.
The prince was heir to the kingdom.
Several kingdoms joined together to form the nation.
nouncountablebiology
One of the largest groups used to classify living things, such as animals, plants and fungi.
Grammar: Used with the in science: the animal kingdom.
Patterns
- the animal kingdom
- the plant kingdom
Mushrooms belong to the fungus kingdom, not the plant kingdom.
The animal kingdom includes insects, fish and mammals.
Biologists divide life into several kingdoms.
nouncountablefigurative
An area of activity or interest in which something is dominant or in which someone has control.
Grammar: Often figurative: the kingdom of fashion.
Patterns
- the kingdom of something
The kitchen was his kingdom, and no one else could cook there.
In the kingdom of sport, she was a legend.
The toy store is a child's dream kingdom.
nounsingularreligion
In Christian belief, God's rule over heaven and earth.
Grammar: Often capitalized: the Kingdom of God.
Patterns
- the kingdom of God
- kingdom come
The sermon spoke of the kingdom of heaven.
They prayed for the coming of the kingdom.
The parable describes the kingdom in simple images.
Word forms
| plural | kingdoms |
|---|
Common combinations
- the animal kingdom
- Bats are unusual members of the animal kingdom.
- the United Kingdom
- The United Kingdom includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- rule a kingdom
- The queen ruled the kingdom for forty years.
- kingdom come
- The explosion nearly blew the shed to kingdom come.
- rival kingdoms
- Rival kingdoms fought over the river valley.
Synonyms and how they differ
- realm
- Realm is more literary and can mean any sphere of influence, not only a monarchy.
- monarchy
- Monarchy names the system of rule, while kingdom names the land ruled.
- domain
- Domain is any area of control or knowledge, and carries no royal image.
- empire
- An empire is larger and made of many territories, but a kingdom is one realm under a king or queen.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: kingdom or queendom?
kingdom vs queendom
Queendom is a rare word for a land ruled by a queen; kingdom covers both and is the standard word.
Practice
In biology, a kingdom is:
Choose one answer.
Kingdom is a top-level category such as animals or plants. The other options misdescribe the term.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kingdom”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.