Meaning & use
raw land
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Meaning
noununcountablebusiness
Land that has no buildings, roads or services such as water and power, and has not been prepared for use.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: ten acres of raw land, not ten raw lands.
Patterns
- acres of raw land
- buy raw land
They bought twenty acres of raw land outside town and planned to build a cabin.
Raw land is cheaper than a finished lot, but you must pay for water and power.
The developer held the raw land for years before applying for permits.
Common combinations
- acres of raw land
- He owns forty acres of raw land near the river.
- buy raw land
- Many investors buy raw land and wait for the area to grow.
- develop raw land
- It costs a lot to develop raw land into housing lots.
- raw land value
- The raw land value rose when the highway was approved.
- invest in raw land
- She chose to invest in raw land rather than apartments.
Synonyms and how they differ
- undeveloped land
- Undeveloped land is the plain, general phrase, while raw land is the term property professionals use for land with no improvements at all.
- vacant lot
- A vacant lot is usually a single plot inside a town that may already have street access and services.
- greenfield
- Greenfield describes a site never built on, but it is used more in planning and construction than in everyday talk.
Opposites
Word family
Practice
Why is raw land usually cheaper than a lot ready for building?
Choose one answer.
Raw land has had no improvements, so the buyer must add water, power and roads. The other reasons are not part of what the term means.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “raw land”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.