From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishruralru‧ral /ˈrʊərəl $ ˈrʊr-/ ●●○ S3 W2 adjective 1 DNCOUNTRYSIDEhappening in or relating to the countryside, not the city OPP urban a rural setting rural bus routes► see thesaurus at country2 DNCOUNTRYSIDElike the countryside or reminding you of the countryside It’s very rural round here, isn’t it?
Examples from the Corpus
rural• Compared to Los Angeles, Santa Barbara is rural.• Crime is a concern in both rural and urban areas.• The authors point out that their study was done in a rural area and results may differ with urban clients.• Patients in rural areas were also more likely to need urgent laser photocoagulation.• Meanwhile, prostitution increases in rural areas, where unemployment has tripled and school drop-out rates for girls are soaring.• While the industrial sector remained small in real terms, much industrial production continued to be located in rural areas.• There continues to be a shortage of jobs for young people in many rural areas.• They felt that the proposed development would detract from the rural character of the area because of its size, height and bulk.• The committee will investigate ways of recruiting doctors and nurses for rural communities.• a rural development program• The possibilities for current and prospective changes in such policies are creating uncertainties over the future of the rural environment.• At that time, much of rural Ireland was desperately poor.• a magazine about rural life• Within this stunned silence anger mounts, and another disaster could well tip rural politics over the edge.• These problems include those associated with rural poverty, malnutrition, population changes and environmental degradation in developing nations.From Longman Business Dictionaryruralru‧ral /ˈrʊərəlˈrʊr-/ adjective happening in or connected with the countryside, not the citya rural development programOrigin rural (1400-1500) Old French Latin ruralis, from rus “open land” 