country house

plural country houses · alternative country-house

1. UKespeciallyA house serving as a weekend and holiday residence, used as a retreat from city life; traditionally and archetypically in the country, and especially of wealthy owners.

   Near-synonym: country seat

   1 more example

   One of those utterly tedious amusements one only finds at an English country house on an English country Sunday. I don't think any one at all morally responsible for what he or she does at an English country house.

   1909, Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband, act 3

   Synonyms: country seat

2. UKespeciallySuch a house, even as a primary residence and even in an area that is no longer rural, but with an aesthetic in keeping with that traditional distinction of country ways.

   a country house look

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see country, house: a house in the country: one not in town.