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

“That permeates into all kinds of areas of our lives and all kinds of domains within the tech industry.”

From Los Angeles Times

"I would expect them to be surgical in nature," says Brandon Daniels, CEO at Exiger, a risk and compliance firm specializing in areas such as supply chains.

From Salon

Ms Riley, who lived in the city of Athens, north-east Georgia, was found dead in a wooded area of the UGA campus after she did not return from her morning run.

From BBC

Some tenant advocates feared that by opening up existing multifamily areas to significant new development, it would cause a wave of displacement as existing buildings are knocked down.

From Los Angeles Times

The station was evacuated and remains closed, while nearby Killermont Street was shut to traffic and people were urged to avoid the area.

From BBC

Related Words

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