area

American  

[air-ee-uh] / ˈɛər i ə /

noun

1. any particular extent of space or surface; part.

   the dark areas in the painting;

   the dusty area of the room.

2. a geographical region; tract: the unsettled areas along the frontier.

   the Chicago area;

   the unsettled areas along the frontier.

3. any section reserved for a specific function: the dining area of a house.

   the business area of a town;

   the dining area of a house.

4. extent, range, or scope.

   inquiries that embrace the whole area of science.

5. field of study, or a branch of a field of study.

   Related areas of inquiry often reflect borrowed notions.

6. a piece of unoccupied ground; an open space.

7. the space or site on which a building stands; the yard attached to or surrounding a house.

8. British. areaway.

9. the quantitative measure of a plane or curved surface; two-dimensional extent.

10. Anatomy. a zone of the cerebral cortex having a specific function.

    The damage to Broca's area affected his speech.

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area British  

/ ˈɛərɪə /

noun

1. any flat, curved, or irregular expanse of a surface

2. 1. the extent of a two-dimensional surface enclosed within a specified boundary or geometric figure

      the area of Ireland

      the area of a triangle

   2. the two-dimensional extent of the surface of a solid, or of some part thereof, esp one bounded by a closed curve

      the area of a sphere

3. a section, portion, or part

   an area of the body

   an area of the sky

4. region; district; locality

   a mountainous area

5. 1. a geographical division of administrative responsibility

   2. ( as modifier )

      area manager

6. a part or section, as of a building, town, etc, having some specified function or characteristic

   reception area

   commercial area

   slum area

7. Also called: areaway.  a sunken area, usually enclosed, giving light, air, and sometimes access to a cellar or basement

8. the range, extent, or scope of anything

9. a subject field or field of study

10. any unoccupied or unused flat open piece of ground

11. the ground on which a building stands, or the ground surrounding a building

12. anatomy any of the various regions of the cerebral cortex

13. computing any part of a computer memory assigned to store data of a specified type

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area Scientific  

/ âr′ē-ə /

1. The extent of a surface or plane figure as measured in square units.

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area Idioms  

1. see gray area.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• areal
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of area

First recorded in 1530–40; fram Latin ārea “vacant piece of level ground, open space in a town, threshing floor”; perhaps akin to ārēre “to be dry”; see also arid

Explanation

The area is a part of a place, usually defined by a function. If you can't stop talking, don't sit in the quiet area of the library. In Latin, area means a vacant piece of ground, but we use it in English to talk about a region or place that's a subset of another larger region. The boarding area in the airport is the space right next to the door. Area is also used to describe topics or subjects of study or work. Within a big history department, professors have different areas of specialty, from medieval economics to urban American politics.

Example Sentences

The defendants -- both Chinese nationals who arrived in court in prison garb -- were acquitted of charges stemming from a separate bombing at a pier in Bangkok's Charoen Nakhon area.

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

The letter called the scale a “continuous measure of socioeconomic disadvantage” that includes parental income and education, growing up in a medically underserved area and other socioeconomic variables.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026

In South Wiltshire, another area under restrictions due to polluted water, some farmers are trying their own measures to reduce pollution.

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026

Our postcode lookup includes present day superstars and past greats from all four home nations since 1950 – discover how many have come from your local area.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Auntie makes a point of saying, “Old Town Alexandria,” so people will know it’s the posh area with homes that are on the historic register.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Related Words

• city
• county
• field
• locality
• neighborhood
• section
• sector
• square
• state
• territory
• township
• zone