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.

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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

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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

Explanation

If you describe land as arable, it means that something can grow there. If you're looking to raise crops, you better find yourself a patch of arable land. Arable has its Latin roots in the word arare, which means "to plow." Arable soil is ground that can be plowed and cultivated. Chances are — if you are using the word arable, then either the word land or the word soil is following it; however, you might also see the phrase "arable crops" — meaning those crops that are able to be grown on arable land.

Example Sentences

We call the deep, folded valleys of West Dorset “coombes,” a topography often too steep for tractors; too awkward to be given over to large-scale arable farming.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 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

Its swaths of deep brush and arable land made it great for farming but less appealing for honeymoons and hedonism.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore