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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Families lined up for golf carts to carry them across the zoo's 100 acres. Quinn Clark, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025 There are also four more acres of greenery. Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2025 Part of Auberge Collection, the 700-acre-plus property is home to a winery, resort, and spa, as well as 40 turnkey villas and 70 vineyard homes. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 27 Oct. 2025 The panoramic view from the first launch point is unbeatable, though eight acres of dazzling protea blooms unfurl below, nearly stealing the show. Maggie Downs, Travel + Leisure, 27 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for acre

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of acre was before the 12th century

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Cite this Entry

“Acre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acre. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

acre

noun
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)

state in western Brazil bordering on Peru and Bolivia; capital Rio Branco area 59,343 square miles (153,698 square kilometers), population 733,559

Acre

2 of 2

geographical name (2)

variants or Hebrew ʽAkko or Old Testament Accho
ˈä-kō How to pronounce Acre (audio)
ˈā-
or New Testament Ptolemaïs
city and port at the head of a bay on the Mediterranean Sea north of Mount Carmel in northwestern Israel population 37,400

More from Merriam-Webster on acre

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