acre
1 Americannoun
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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.
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acres,
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lands; land.
wooded acres.
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Informal. large quantities.
acres of Oriental rugs.
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Archaic. a plowed or sown field.
idioms
noun
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a state in W Brazil. 58,900 sq. mi. (152,550 sq. km). Rio Branco.
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a seaport in NW Israel: besieged and captured by Crusaders 1191.
noun
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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)
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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)
noun
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a unit of area used in certain English-speaking countries, equal to 4840 square yards or 4046.86 square metres
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(plural)
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land, esp a large area
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informal a large amount
he has acres of space in his room
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to graze cows on the verge of a road
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing acre
Down on the Farm
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List 4
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4-letter words, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
The property spans just over 4,100 square feet and features four bedrooms, as well as more than half an acre of land.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
In an email to the Tribune in June, Hughes said the concerns about water use are overblown, noting two nearby golf courses are using more water per acre than his three data center proposals combined.
From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026
Right in front of her, out of the fog, the island materialized—-an acre of pine trees, boulders, and snow with a black sand beach: If the island had a name, she didn’t know it.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.