Meanings
acre1
plural acres · alternative obsolete acer · alternative obsolete aker
- An English unit of land area (symbol: a. or ac.) originally denoting a day's ploughing for a yoke of oxen, now standardized as 4,840 square yards or 4,046.86 square metres.
Buried within the Mediterranean littoral are some seventy to ninety million tons of slag from ancient smelting, about a third of it concentrated in Iberia. This ceaseless industrial fueling caused the deforestation of an estimated fifty to seventy million acres of woodlands.
2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion- historicalChesterAn area of 10,240 square yards or 4 quarters.
- Any of various similar units of area in other systems.
- informalplural normallyA wide expanse.
I like my new house—there’s acres of space!
- informalplural normallyA large quantity.
- obsoleteA field.
- obsoleteA duel fought between individual Scots and Englishmen in the borderlands.
Acre2
Acre3
- A river in South America.
- A state of the North Region, Brazil. Capital: Rio Branco.
Acre4
- A surname.
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA port city in northern Israel, holiest city in the Baháʼí Faith.
approximate
Origin
acre · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂eǵ-?
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂éǵros
- Proto-Germanic*akraz
- Proto-West Germanic*akr
- Old Englishæcer
- Middle Englishaker
- Englishacre
From Middle English acre, aker, from Old English æcer (“field where crops are grown”), from Proto-West Germanic *akr, from Proto-Germanic *akraz (“field”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵros (“field”). Doublet of agriculture. Cognate with Scots acre, aker, acker (“acre, field, arable land”), North Frisian ecir (“field, a measure of land”), West Frisian eker (“field”), Dutch akker (“field”), German Acker (“field, acre”), Norwegian åker (“field”) and Swedish åker (“field”), Icelandic akur (“field”), Latin ager (“land, field, acre, countryside”), Ancient Greek ἀγρός (agrós, “field”), Sanskrit अज्र (ájra, “field, plain”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Acre · proper noun
- Hebrewעכו
- Ancient GreekἌκο
- LatinAcre
- EnglishAcre
Borrowed from French and Latin Acre, from Ancient Greek Ἄκο (Áko) or Ἄκη (Ákē), from Hebrew עכו (ʿAkko), of unknown origin.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek, Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Acre · proper noun
- PortugueseAcre
- EnglishAcre
From Portuguese Acre, of uncertain origin.
More words from Portuguese
Full word history & related roots →Acre · proper noun
Probably a variant of Acker or Acree/Ackary, though also possibly Americanization of Norwegian Aakre or Low German Egger.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Ἄκο, Ἄκη
- Ἄκο (Áko)city
- Ἄκη (Ákē)city
- Πτολεμαΐς (Ptolemaḯs)city
Arabic آكِر, عَكَّا
- آكِر (ʔākir)unit of surface area
- عَكَّا (ʕakkā)city
- أَكْرِي (ʔakrī)state in north-western Brazil
Bulgarian а́кър
- а́кър (ákăr)unit of surface area
Catalan acre
- acreunit of surface area
Chinese Mandarin 英畝 /英亩, 阿科
- 英畝 /英亩 (yīngmǔ)unit of surface area
- 阿科 (Ākē)city
- 阿克里州 (Ākèlǐ Zhōu)state in north-western Brazil
Czech akr
- akrunit of surface area
Dutch Akko
- Akkocity
Esperanto akreo
- akreounit of surface area
Estonian aaker
- aakerunit of surface area
Finnish eekkeri, Akko
- eekkeriunit of surface area
- Akkocity
- Acrestate in north-western Brazil
French acre, Acre
- acreunit of surface area
- Acrecity
- Acrestate in north-western Brazil
German Morgen, Acker
- Morgenunit of surface area
- Ackerunit of surface area
- Jochunit of surface area
- Joch Landesunit of surface area
- Juchartunit of surface area
- Akkoncity
Greek έικρ, Άκρε
- έικρ (éikr)unit of surface area
- Άκρε (Ákre)state in north-western Brazil
Hawaiian ʻAko
- ʻAkocity
Hebrew עַכּוֹ
- עַכּוֹ ('áko)city
Hungarian angol hold
- angol holdunit of surface area
Indonesian ekar
- ekarunit of surface area
Irish acra
- acraunit of surface area
Italian acro, Acri
- acrounit of surface area
- Acricity
Japanese エーカー, アクレ
- エーカー (ēkā)unit of surface area
- アクレ (Akure)state in north-western Brazil
Korean 에이커, 아크리
- 에이커 (eikeo)unit of surface area
- 아크리 (akeuri)state in north-western Brazil
Latin Acre, Ptolemāis
- Acrecity
- Ptolemāiscity
Lithuanian akras
- akrasunit of surface area
Malay ekar
- ekarunit of surface area
Māori eka, Aka
- ekaunit of surface area
- Akacity
Persian جریب, عکا
- جریب (jerib)unit of surface area
- عکا ('Akkâ)city
- عکه ('Akke)city
Polish akr, Akka
- akrunit of surface area
- Akkacity
Portuguese acre, jeira
- acreunit of surface area
- jeiraunit of surface area
- Acrecity
- Acrestate in north-western Brazil
Russian акр, А́кко
- акр (akr)unit of surface area
- А́кко (Ákko)city
- А́кка (Ákka)city
- А́кра (Ákra)city
- А́кри (Ákri)state in north-western Brazil
Scottish Gaelic acaire
- acaireunit of surface area
Spanish acre, Acre
- acreunit of surface area
- Acrecity
- Acrestate in north-western Brazil
Swahili ekari
- ekariunit of surface area
Thai เอเคอร์
- เอเคอร์ (ee-kə̂ə)unit of surface area
Turkish Akka
- Akkacity
Ukrainian акр, А́крі
- акр (akr)unit of surface area
- А́крі (Ákri)state in north-western Brazil
Urdu عکا, عکہ
- عکا ('akkā)city
- عکہ ('akka)city
Vietnamese mẫu Anh, mẫu tây
- mẫu Anhunit of surface area
- mẫu tâyunit of surface area
Welsh erw
- erwunit of surface area
Yiddish אַקער
- אַקער (aker)unit of surface area
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
acre. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acre
“acre.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acre. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “acre,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acre.
Source: acre on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.