ENGLISH
REFERENCE

acre

n. countable
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈeɪkɝ// acre Archaic Informal

n. a unit for measuring an area of land. One acre is about the size of a standard football field.

n. a unit of land area measurement equal to 4,840 square yards or approximately 4,047 square meters. Used primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom for agricultural and real estate purposes.


SIMPLE

The farmer owns ten acres of land.

CONTEXTUAL

The new housing development sits on forty acres of former woodland just outside the city limits.

COMPLEX

While modern industrial farms often span thousands of acres, smaller organic operations can remain profitable by maximizing the yield of every individual plot through intensive cultivation techniques.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

Borrowed from French and Latin Acre, from Ancient Greek Ἄκο (Áko) or Ἄκη (Ákē), from Hebrew עכו (ʿAkko), of unknown origin.

Etymology 2

From Portuguese Acre, of uncertain origin.

Etymology 3

Probably a variant of Acker or Acree/Ackary, though also possibly Americanization of Norwegian Aakre or Low German Egger.

Usage

Commonly used in the plural to describe a large but unspecified amount of land ('acres of space').

Idioms1 entry

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