area

[ air-ee-uh ]

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 ( def 1 ).
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.

area

/ 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 sky

   an area of the body

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 calledareaway 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

area

/ âr′ē-ə /

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

Derived Forms

• ˈareal, adjective

Other Words From

• ar·e·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of area¹

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”; arid

Word History and Origins

Origin of area¹

C16: from Latin: level ground, open space, threshing-floor; related to ārēre to be dry

Idioms and Phrases

see gray area .

Example Sentences

Fortunately, work is underway on new visions for our coastal areas, including three scenarios for 2100.

From Science Daily

When police arrived on scene, they found more bones in the area and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office was called to assist in the investigation.

From Los Angeles Times

Northern California is being hit hard by the first major atmospheric river storm of the season, with rain totals expected to exceed 12 inches in some areas, bringing a chance for flooding and mudslides.

From Los Angeles Times

Barney and England director of cricket Rob Key identify coach education as an area of growth in this country.

From BBC

She grabs the end of the hose to clean areas she can reach easily.

From NewsForKids.net

Related Words

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