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.

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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

• 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

In a 2023 census of 69 preselected sites in the grove, Hanson counted about 2,600 trees per acre in one plot and 14,000 in another.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

Joe Sinclair, president of Iowa farm retailer Quality Ag Services, said he recently sold corn seed to a grower who had projected his fields would yield 200 bushels of corn an acre.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

On average, it costs around $1,000 to maintain an acre of cocoa farm in Ghana, and many farmers are concerned they might not be able to recoup their investment.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026

An acre of avocados generates between $12,000 and $15,000 in profits a year, according to Adam Peck, chief investment officer at Milwaukee-based Riverwater Partners.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 7, 2026

The concentration used was one pound of active ingredient to the acre.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• acreage
• estate
• plot
• property