acre

¹ American  

[ey-ker] / ˈeɪ kər /

noun

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.

---

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.

---

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)

---

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

---

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.

---

Other Word Forms

• half-acre noun

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-; acorn, agrarian, agrestic, agriculture, agro-

Example Sentences

With its mild weather and acres of empty land, turn-of-the-20th century L.A. was perfect for two burgeoning industries: flight and film.

From Los Angeles Times

Fernando, Osmin and their two younger brothers spent their free time shooting slingshots and riding ATVs around acres of dirt roads and fields that belonged to the company where their parents worked.

From The Wall Street Journal

According to the listing, the property is a “one-of-a-kind, custom-built all-stone estate tucked away on a very serene and private beautifully landscaped acres.”

From MarketWatch

"In Africa, people don't use fertilizers because they don't have money, and farms are small, not larger than six to eight acres," Blumwald said.

From Science Daily

County Public Works water tank facility, are barely larger than 1 acre.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• acreage
• estate
• plot
• property