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 The Ford Field and River Club, about a 40-minute drive from Savannah, spans 1,800 acres with miles of river frontage. Mark David, Robb Report, 14 Mar. 2024 Dogwood Estate sits on 21 densely wooded acres in Hendersonville and shares a driveway with Johnny and June’s legendary Sycamore Homestead compound, which is also currently for sale. Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 13 Mar. 2024 The 381 acres of unincorporated land in Atlanta’s DeKalb County is part of what is now known as the South River Forest. Essence, 12 Mar. 2024 Freeway removal supporters say the streets can handle the change, which would open 15 to 18 acres for commercial development − and tear down a barrier between downtown, the lakefront and the Third Ward. Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2024 If not, here’s a quick refresher: Starting in 2018, a mysterious company began buying up land in the Bay Area county, eventually amassing more than 52,000 acres around Travis Air Force Base, the city of Rio Vista and throughout the rural region north of the Sacramento River. Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024 But, in a fashion first, stars seem to have listened to those (us) calling time on the acres of skin always on display. Alice Newbold, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2024 Vertical drop: 770' Total trails: 28 Total skiable acres: 140 Après-ski: Stop by the cafeteria for the hill's signature jumbo-sized M&M's cookie, and prepare for the ensuing sugar high. Todd Plummer, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2024 The Smokehouse Creek fire—located north of Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle—has spread to just over 1 million acres and is 15% contained as of Saturday morning, including 31,500 acres in Oklahoma, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Ty Roush, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'acre.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Dictionary Entries Near acre

Cite this Entry

“Acre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acre. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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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