acre

¹

[ey-ker]

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.

Acre

²

[ah-kruh, ah-ker, ey-ker]

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

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

/ 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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of acre¹

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-

Word History and Origins

Origin of acre¹

Old English æcer field, acre; related to Old Norse akr, German Acker, Latin ager field, Sanskrit ajra field

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. forty acres and a mule. mule.

Related Words

• acreage 
• estate 
• plot 
• property