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• acre
  acre

  noun

  a common measure of area: in the U.S. and U.K., 1 acre equals 4,840 square yards (4,047 square meters) or 0.405 hectare; 640 acres equals one square mile.
• Acre
  Acre

  noun

  a state in W Brazil. 58,900 sq. mi. (152,550 sq. km). Rio Branco.

acre

¹ American  

[ey-ker] / ˈeɪ kər /

noun

• acres
  plural

1. a common measure of area: in the U.S. and U.K., 1 acre equals 4,840 square yards (4,047 square meters) or 0.405 hectare; 640 acres equals one square mile.

2. acres,

   1. lands; land.

      wooded acres.

   2. Informal. large quantities.

      acres of Oriental rugs.

3. Archaic. a plowed or sown field.

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idioms

1. forty acres and a mule. mule.

Acre ² American  

[ah-kruh, ah-ker, ey-ker] / ˈɑ krə, ˈɑ kər, ˈeɪ kər /

noun

1. a state in W Brazil. 58,900 sq. mi. (152,550 sq. km). Rio Branco.

2. a seaport in NW Israel: besieged and captured by Crusaders 1191.

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Acre ¹ British  

noun

1. a state of W Brazil: mostly unexplored tropical forests; acquired from Bolivia in 1903. Capital: Rio Branco. Pop: 586 942 (2002). Area: 152 589 sq km (58 899 sq miles)

2. Arabic name: `Akka.  Hebrew name: `Akko.  Old Testament name: Accho.  a city and port in N Israel, strategically situated on the Bay of Acre in the E Mediterranean: taken and retaken during the Crusades (1104, 1187, 1191, 1291), taken by the Turks (1517), by Egypt (1832), and by the Turks again (1839). Pop: 45 600 (2001)

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acre ² British  

/ ˈeɪkə /

noun

1. a unit of area used in certain English-speaking countries, equal to 4840 square yards or 4046.86 square metres

2. (plural)

   1. land, esp a large area

   2. informal a large amount

      he has acres of space in his room

3. to graze cows on the verge of a road

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acre Scientific  

/ ā′kər /

1. A unit of area in the US Customary System, used in land and sea floor measurement and equal to 43,560 square feet or 4,047 square meters.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• half-acre
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• acres
  plural

Etymology

Origin of acre

First recorded before 1000; Middle English aker, Old English æcer; cognate with Old Frisian ekker, Old Saxon akkar, Old High German ackar ( German Acker ), Old Norse akr, Gothic akers, Latin ager, Greek agrós, Sanskrit ájra-; see also acorn, agrarian, agrestic, agriculture, agro-

Explanation

An acre is a unit for measuring area, especially larger areas like farms. An acre is 4840 square yards. It's pretty easy to imagine a square yard: three feet by three feet. Now imagine 4840 of them and you've got an acre. That's a pretty large chunk of land, and acres are used for measuring big areas in some English-speaking countries. Large areas such as farms, forests, and golf courses are likely to be measured in acres. Farms in particular need many acres to grow crops and give the animals space to live.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

acre Acre acres

The lab sat on an acre of land in a forest that straddles the border of Abidagba and Iroto villages.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Located on Miami Beach’s ultraexclusive Star Island, the 10-bedroom, 12-bath mansion sits on more than an acre of waterfront land with approximately 240 feet of Biscayne Bay frontage.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

It quickly grew from half an acre to five acres.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

As well as the property - set in an acre of grounds on cliffs overlooking Downderry Beach - Darren has also won £250,000 cash.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

Stone axes would clear an acre and a half, a typical slash-and-burn plot, in the equivalent of 153 eight-hour days.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

One of Shepard’s maps of the Hundred Acre Wood currently holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the most expensive book illustration sold at auction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

Reunion in Spring Green offers elevated, locally driven barbecue, and, in the town of Paoli, Seven Acre Dairy Company’s autumn dinner series showcases Driftless fare reimagined by chefs from across the nation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2025

Hidden in the rubble were the falafel restaurant whose owner learned his trade over the border in Acre, Israel; the sweets shop; the stationary store that was a one-stop shop for kids returning to school.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2024

"I've often wondered what lay behind the blue front doors of this distinctive Georgian building on Brixton's busy Acre Lane," says Grover.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2024

I sketch them in their rows, like the years of her childhood, Acre and French Fry and Lulu and Susan and Up and all the rest, organized alphabetically.

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson

The fire began Sunday morning in the Los Padres National Forest southeast of the neighborhood of Loma Vista and quickly scorched 400 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

A few weeks before Robert arrived in Baku, Mr. Brunt relates, the czar had “set more than 3,000 acres of prime oil lands for auction to private speculators.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

The blaze had grown to 10,374 acres, with 26% containment, as of Thursday afternoon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

In the Rhinogydd mountain range in Gwynedd, which is home to a National Nature Reserve and a Special Area of Conservation, a blaze burned for nearly two weeks and affected more than 2,000 acres.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

A hundred and sixty acres is a half mile on each side.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Related Words

• acreage
• estate
• plot
• property