acre

noun

ˈā-kər 

1

a

archaic : a field especially of arable land or pastureland

b

acres plural : lands, estate

2

: any of various units of area

specifically : a unit in the U.S. and England equal to 43,560 square feet (4047 square meters) see Weights and Measures Table

3

: a broad expanse or great quantity

acres of free publicity

Examples of acre in a Sentence

The house sits on two acres of land.

They own hundreds of acres of farmland.

Recent Examples on the Web

Sitting within the magnificent 350 acres estate of Ashford Castle, The Lodge at Ashford Castle overlooks magical Lough (lake) Corrib. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026

The Dome Fire grew by 283 acres Saturday night, according to wildfire authorities, and was 3,222 acres and 15% contained as of Monday morning. — Chris Boyette, CNN Money, 21 Sep. 2026

Forward progress of a grass fire in Marin County has been stopped at more than 300 acres, crews said. — Brandon Downs, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026

The 10-acre, pet-friendly property is anchored by a huge pool, where guests can splash away from morning until well into the night. — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 21 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English aker, acre, going back to Old English æcer, going back to Germanic *akraz (whence also, with k geminate in West Germanic, Old Saxon akkar "field," Old High German ackar, Old Norse akr "arable land," Gothic akrs "field"), going back to Indo-European *h₂eǵros, whence also Latin ager, "piece of land, field," Greek agrós, Sanskrit ájrah

Note: This Indo-European noun is traditionally linked to the verbal base *h₂eǵ- "drive (cattle, etc.)" (see agent), on the assumption that *h₂eǵ-ros originally meant "pasture," "fallow land," onto which the cattle were driven, and later developed other senses, as "cultivated field." The semantic plausibility of such a derivation has recently been questioned, however.

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing acre

• acre-foot
• acre-inch
• God's acre

Rhymes for acre

• automaker
• boilermaker
• cabinetmaker
• coffeemaker
• troublemaker
• undertaker
• blackacre
• caretaker
• clockmaker
• dressmaker
• filmmaker
• homemaker

Kids Definition

acre

noun

ˈā-kər 

1

plural : property consisting of land : estate

2

: a unit of area equal to 43,560 square feet (about 4047 square meters) see measure

Etymology

Old English æcer "field, cultivated land"

Geographical Definition

Acre 1 of 2

geographical name (1)

ˈä-krē 

-(ˌ)krā

state in western Brazil bordering on Peru and Bolivia; capital Rio Branco area 59,343 square miles (153,698 square kilometers)

Acre

2 of 2

geographical name (2)

ˈä-kər  ˈā-kər  ˈä-krə 

variants or Hebrew ʽAkko or Old Testament Accho

ˈä-kō 

ˈā-

or New Testament Ptolemaïs

ˌtä-lə-ˈmā-əs 

city and port at the head of a bay on the Mediterranean Sea north of Mount Carmel in northwestern Israel