yard
1a 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.
Idioms about yard
the whole nine yards, Informal.
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.
Origin of yard
1Other definitions for yard (2 of 2)
the ground that immediately adjoins or surrounds a house, public building, or other structure.
an enclosed area outdoors, often paved and surrounded by or adjacent to a building; court.
ballpark: It’s been a long road trip for the Mariners, and they’ll be glad to get back to their own yard on Tuesday.
an outdoor enclosure designed for the exercise of students, inmates, etc.: a prison yard.
an outdoor space surrounded by a group of buildings, as on a college campus.
a pen or other enclosure for livestock.
an enclosure within which any work or business is carried on (often used in combination): navy yard; a brickyard.
an outside area used for storage, assembly, or the like.
Railroads. a system of parallel tracks, crossovers, switches, etc., where cars are switched and made up into trains and where cars, locomotives, and other rolling stock are kept when not in use or when awaiting repairs.
the winter pasture or browsing ground of moose and deer.
the Yard, British. Scotland Yard (def. 2).
to put into, enclose, or store in a yard.
Origin of yard
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use yard in a sentence
The protection will last as long as Winston can still fling the ball 50 yards downfield to a streaking wide receiver.
Jameis Winston Cleared of Rape Like Every Other College Sports Star | Robert Silverman | December 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe found one, a male, maybe 50 yards from the nest with no obvious injuries.
He caught eight passes for 71 yards and a touchdown in an overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills last weekend.
The exploding bombs and gunpowder leveled every structure for hundreds of yards in all directions.
Atlanta’s Fall Foretold The End Of Civil War Bloodshed | Marc Wortman | September 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd yet, 500 yards is not even a third of a mile, fans-of-math.
20 Things You Didn’t Know About 'The Shawshank Redemption' | Bill Schulz | August 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The doctor, a little puzzled, took his leave, but had not gone ten yards when the housekeeper flew screaming after him.
Uncanny Tales | VariousAbout three o'clock, as nearly as I could tell, we dipped into a wooded creek bottom some two hundred yards in width.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairIt was a hippopotamus which had been standing on the river-brink within six yards of the muzzle of his gun.
Hunting the Lions | R.M. BallantyneA mushir (marshal) would find it derogatory to his dignity to smoke out of a stem less than two yards in length.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.I still think we might have done as well at much less cost by creeping up these 200 or 300 yards by night.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
British Dictionary definitions for yard (1 of 3)
/ (jɑːd) /
a unit of length equal to 3 feet and defined in 1963 as exactly 0.9144 metre: Abbreviation: 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
Origin of yard
1British Dictionary definitions for yard (2 of 3)
/ (jɑːd) /
a piece of enclosed ground, usually either paved or laid with concrete and often adjoining or surrounded by a building or buildings
an enclosed or open area used for some commercial activity, for storage, etc: a railway yard
(in combination): a brickyard; a shipyard
a US and Canadian word for garden (def. 1)
an area having a network of railway tracks and sidings, used for storing rolling stock, making up trains, etc
US and Canadian the winter pasture of deer, moose, and similar animals
Australian and NZ an enclosed area used to draw off part of a herd, etc
to draft (animals), esp to a saleyard
Origin of yard
2British Dictionary definitions for Yard (3 of 3)
/ (jɑːd) /
the Yard British informal short for Scotland Yard
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
[ 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
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.
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