heartland
- 01 C1 Advanced
in Singapore, the residential areas outside the main city center where most people live.
in a Singaporean context, the residential districts and new towns outside the central business district where the majority of the population resides.
Simple“You can find the best local food at the small shops in the heartlands.”
In context“Urban planners in Singapore focus on ensuring that the heartlands remain self-sufficient with plenty of amenities and public transport links.”
UsageOften used in the plural form 'heartlands' in this specific regional context.
Teacher's tipThis sense is specific to Singaporean English; in other varieties, 'heartland' usually refers to rural or central geographic areas.
Synonymssuburbsresidential districts
“They are often clustered around farms, but some are the towns and villages dotted throughout the duchy’s heartlands in Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and Dartmoor.”
“Al-Assad belonged to the Islamic Alawite sect – a minority group in Syria – and enjoyed strong support in the group’s coastal heartland during his rule.”