arable

American  

[ar-uh-buhl] / ˈær ə bəl /

adjective

1. capable of producing crops; suitable for farming; suited to the plow and for tillage.

   arable land; arable soil.

---

noun

1. land that can be or is cultivated.

arable British  

/ ˈærəbəl /

adjective

1. (of land) being or capable of being tilled for the production of crops

2. of, relating to, or using such land

   arable farming

---

noun

1. arable land or farming

Other Word Forms

• arability noun

Etymology

Origin of arable

1375–1425; < Latin arābilis, equivalent to arā ( re ) to plow + -bilis -ble; replacing late Middle English erable, equivalent to er ( en ) to plow ( Old English erian ) + -able -able

Example Sentences

Andrew Williamson, who farms 900 acres of arable land near Bridgnorth in Shropshire, said he was concerned for next year's crop in the face of current "very expensive prices".

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

Irma was one of Chávez’s direct beneficiaries; she received a parcel of arable land which she cultivated with her brother.

From Slate • Jan. 15, 2026

Lucy Manthorpe runs a 400-acre organic arable farm in Suffolk and says she was losing over £10,000 worth of crops a year to deer damage on three fields.

From BBC • Dec. 25, 2025

The DRC has nearly 80 million hectares of arable land and four million hectares of irrigable land.

From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025

Competition for grazing land among tribes of herdsmen or for arable soil among farming communities?

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson