backyard

noun3

1. •
   (US, Australia) an area of ground behind a house, often with grass around it

   • I think when I discovered this republic, which is in Nevada - in one man's house and backyard and front garden - I think I stumbled across what for me really typifies the whole micronational movement. — 2006
2. •
   (informal) A person's neighborhood, or an area nearby to a person's usual residence or place of work and where the person is likely to go.

   • The entire beach was my backyard, from the Hiltons' house in the south all the way to Steele Hunter's house in the north. — 2005
3. •
   (informal) An area nearby to a country or other jurisdiction's legal boundaries, particularly an area in which the country feels it has an interest.

   • However, the region was in the United States backyard and Britain should look passively on with acquiescence in whatever policy the United States saw fit to pursue about Mexico. — 1942