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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  

/ 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 ² 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 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

U.S. corn yield forecast, in bushels an acre, for the 2026/27 season, down from the Agriculture Department’s projection in July for 183 bushels an acre.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

State officials estimated the costs at $4,100 per acre of paved or impermeable surface for those that decide to help fund local stormwater projects, and said the costs for other options could be considerably higher.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 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

The company produces steady cash flows from the royalty payments it gets from companies that drill for natural gas across its 3.4-million acre portfolio, and pays it back to shareholders.

From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026

That farm is just a small part of an eighty-million-plus- acre corn lawn rolling across the continent.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

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

Shepard brought the light touch of Punch magazine to creation of the Hundred Acre Wood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

"It's my point of view. It was my action," she says in the grounds of Castle Acre Priory, Norfolk.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2025

Bwalya pays tribute to his team-mates in Heroes' Acre.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2024

“What are you doing with Lulu? And Susan and Acre and French Fry and Up?”

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

More than 100 firefighters fought the flames across an area of 500 acres, with hotspots remaining on Saturday.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Losing 500 acres of soybeans seems a small price for economic growth and 130 families moving in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Five hundred acres of soybeans will be saved, but opportunities for Nodaway citizens to have a career and make a good life in northwest Missouri will be lost.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

A wildfire in Big Sur has burned 2,000 acres, spurred evacuations that encompass the Nepenthe restaurant and the Alila Ventana resort, and closed state parks in the area.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Each man or family can claim one hundred and sixty acres.

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

Related Words

• acreage
• estate
• plot
• property