acre

¹

[ ey-ker ]

noun

1. a common measure of area: in the U.S. and U.K., 1 acre equals 4,840 square yards (4,047 square meters) or 0.405 hectare; 640 acres equals one square mile.
2. acres,
   1. lands; land:

      wooded acres.

   2. Informal. large quantities:

      acres of Oriental rugs.

3. Archaic. a plowed or sown field.

Acre

²

[ ah-kruh ah-ker, ey-ker ]

noun

1. a state in W Brazil. 58,900 sq. mi. (152,550 sq. km). : Rio Branco.
2. a seaport in NW Israel: besieged and captured by Crusaders 1191.

Acre

¹

noun

1. ˈɑːkrə a state of W Brazil: mostly unexplored tropical forests; acquired from Bolivia in 1903. Capital: Rio Branco. Pop: 586 942 (2002). Area: 152 589 sq km (58 899 sq miles)
2. ˈeɪkəˈɑːkə a city and port in N Israel, strategically situated on the Bay of Acre in the E Mediterranean: taken and retaken during the Crusades (1104, 1187, 1191, 1291), taken by the Turks (1517), by Egypt (1832), and by the Turks again (1839). Pop: 45 600 (2001) Old Testament nameAcchoɑːˈkəʊ Arabic name`Akkaɑːˈkɑː Hebrew name`Akkoɑːˈkəʊ

acre

²

/ ˈeɪkə /

noun

1. a unit of area used in certain English-speaking countries, equal to 4840 square yards or 4046.86 square metres
2. plural
   1. land, esp a large area
   2. a large amount

      he has acres of space in his room

3. farm the long acre
   to graze cows on the verge of a road

acre

/ ā′kər /

1. A unit of area in the US Customary System, used in land and sea floor measurement and equal to 43,560 square feet or 4,047 square meters.

Other Words From

• half-a·cre noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of acre¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English aker, Old English æcer; cognate with Old Frisian ekker, Old Saxon akkar, Old High German ackar ( German Acker ), Old Norse akr, Gothic akers, Latin ager, Greek agrós, Sanskrit ájra-; acorn, agrarian, agrestic, agriculture, agro-

Word History and Origins

Origin of acre¹

Old English æcer field, acre; related to Old Norse akr, German Acker, Latin ager field, Sanskrit ajra field

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. forty acres and a mule. mule ¹( def 11 ).

Example Sentences

Most of the avocado producers in the Mountain Fire burn area are small-scale farmers, Bell said: “They have a small couple acres here or there.”

From Los Angeles Times

Endless acres of farmland are edged by mountains and lush forest; when the trees blaze with autumn colors, it’s a heavenly sight.

From Los Angeles Times

And the Pit River Nation is requesting designation for roughly 200,000 acres of their ancestral territory and spiritual sites in Sáttítla, or the Medicine Lake Highlands, which encompasses striking volcanic formations in Northern California.

From Los Angeles Times

Today Mr Matthews has 6,000 cocoa trees on his 50 acres of land.

From BBC

The average farm in Northern Ireland is about 100 acres and land values have risen in recent years.

From BBC

Related Words

• acreage
• estate
• plot
• property