| floor | The floor is the surface that you walk on when you are indoors: 'Our cat likes to sit on the floor under my desk.' 'It's about time someone cleaned the kitchen floor.' |
| ground | The ground is the surface that you walk on when you are outdoors: 'The ground was covered with snow.' 'In the middle of the forest was a bare patch of marshy ground.' |
| grounds | Grounds refers to the area surrounding and belonging to a school, hospital, hotel, stately home, etc, usually enclosed by a wall or fence: 'Parking within the hospital grounds is strictly prohibited.' |
| land | Land refers to:
(1) an area of ground that is owned or used by someone, or that is controlled by a particular country: 'All the land from here to the stream belongs to the Pattersons.' 'Disagreements about land have led to many wars.'
(2) (also the land) the part of the Earth's surface that is not covered by water: 'After three days at sea, I was looking forward to being on land again.' |
| territory | Territory is the area that is controlled by a particular country, army or power: 'One of the results of losing the war was that the country had to give up almost half its territory.' 'They had wandered by mistake into enemy territory.' |
| soil | Soil is the material in which plants and trees grow: 'This plant needs rich soil to grow well.' |