area
any section reserved for a specific function: the business area of a town;the dining area of a house.
extent, range, or scope: inquiries that embrace the whole area of science.
field of study, or a branch of a field of study: Related areas of inquiry often reflect borrowed notions.
a piece of unoccupied ground; an open space.
the space or site on which a building stands; the yard attached to or surrounding a house.
British. areaway (def. 1).
the quantitative measure of a plane or curved surface; two-dimensional extent.
Anatomy. a zone of the cerebral cortex having a specific function: The damage to Broca's area affected his speech.
Origin of area
1Other words from area
- ar·e·al, adjective
Words that may be confused with area
- area , aria
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use area in a sentence
The former provides entrepreneurial training and educational programs for youths from low-income urban areas around the world.
In Turkey, crime groups in border areas are exploiting the labor of Syrian male refugees who cannot find legitimate employment.
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism | Louise I. Shelley | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHistorically, conquering armies have seized inhabitants of conquered areas and enslaved them.
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism | Louise I. Shelley | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTExploitation of trafficking victims may be most acute in conflict and adjoining regions, but it is not confined to these areas.
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism | Louise I. Shelley | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe good news is, the government has already begun to play Moneyball in some areas.
Can the U.S. Government Go Moneyball? | Peter Orszag, Jim Nussle | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Snow falls very infrequently except in the mountain areas and usually is of short duration whenever it appears.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. TorpeyIn these whirlings great differences in atmospheric pressure are brought about in contiguous areas of sea.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerBesides the greater lands, the seas are fretted by a host of smaller dry areas, termed islands.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerHe commanded a force which at this time was in possession of Norfolk and its adjacent areas.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. TorpeyBut the rivers, by cutting down and tilling up, have long since obliterated these water areas.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
British Dictionary definitions for area
/ (ˈɛərɪə) /
any flat, curved, or irregular expanse of a surface
the extent of a two-dimensional surface enclosed within a specified boundary or geometric figure: the area of Ireland; the area of a triangle
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
a section, portion, or part: an area of the body; an area of the sky
region; district; locality: a mountainous area
a geographical division of administrative responsibility
(as modifier): area manager
a part or section, as of a building, town, etc, having some specified function or characteristic: reception area; commercial area; slum area
Also called: areaway a sunken area, usually enclosed, giving light, air, and sometimes access to a cellar or basement
the range, extent, or scope of anything
a subject field or field of study
any unoccupied or unused flat open piece of ground
the ground on which a building stands, or the ground surrounding a building
anatomy any of the various regions of the cerebral cortex
computing any part of a computer memory assigned to store data of a specified type
Origin of area
1Derived forms of area
- areal, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for area
[ âr′ē-ə ]
The extent of a surface or plane figure as measured in square units.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with area
see gray area.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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