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yard
1[ yahrd ]
/ yɑrd /
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noun
a common unit of linear measure in English-speaking countries, equal to 3 feet or 36 inches, and equivalent to 0.9144 meter.
Nautical. a long spar, supported more or less at its center, to which the head of a square sail, lateen sail, or lugsail is bent.
Informal. a large quantity or extent.
Slang. one hundred or, usually, one thousand dollars.
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Idioms about yard
- everything that is pertinent, appropriate, or available.
- in all ways; in every respect; all the way: If you want to run for mayor, I'll be with you the whole nine yards.
the whole nine yards, Informal.
Origin of yard
1First recorded before 950; Middle English yerd(e), yard(e) “stick, pole, rod,” Old English gird, gierd, gerd “bough, staff, rod”; cognate with Dutch gard, German Gerte “rod, twig”
Words nearby yard
Other definitions for yard (2 of 2)
yard2
[ yahrd ]
/ yɑrd /
noun
verb (used with object)
to put into, enclose, or store in a yard.
Origin of yard
2First recorded before 900; Middle English yerd(e), yard(e), Old English geard “enclosure”; cognate with Dutch gaard “garden,” Old Norse garthr “yard,” Gothic gards “house,” Latin hortus “garden,” Greek chórtos “enclosure, court,” Old Irish gort “field,” Slavic (Polish) gród “castle, town”; akin to garden,garth
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use yard in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for yard (1 of 3)
yard1
/ (jɑːd) /
noun
a unit of length equal to 3 feet and defined in 1963 as exactly 0.9144 metreAbbreviation: yd
a cylindrical wooden or hollow metal spar, tapered at the ends, slung from a mast of a square-rigged or lateen-rigged vessel and used for suspending a sail
short for yardstick (def. 2)
put in the hard yards Australian informal to make a great effort to achieve an end
the whole nine yards informal everything that is required; the whole thing
Word Origin for yard
Old English gierd rod, twig; related to Old Frisian jerde, Old Saxon gerdia, Old High German gertia, Old Norse gaddr
British Dictionary definitions for yard (2 of 3)
yard2
/ (jɑːd) /
noun
verb (tr)
to draft (animals), esp to a saleyard
Word Origin for yard
Old English geard; related to Old Saxon gard, Old High German gart, Old Norse garthr yard, Gothic gards house, Old Slavonic gradu town, castle, Albanian garth hedge
British Dictionary definitions for yard (3 of 3)
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 yard
yard
[ yärd ]
A unit of length in the US Customary System equal to 3 feet or 36 inches (0.91 meter). See Table at measurement.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with yard
yard
see all wool and a yard wide; in one's own back yard; whole nine yards.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.