area
noun
Simple meaning
A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehreeuhSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛɹiə
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
Any particular extent of surface, especially an empty or unused extent.
mathematics
A measure of the extent of a surface; it is measured in square units.
mathematics
The extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary
The extent, scope, or range of an object or concept.
british
An open space, below ground level, giving access to the basement of a house, and typically separated from the pavement by railings.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
Used this way, area is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This sense is used where position and measurement matter — travel, weather and flight — so it reads as factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Geography/travel
- Weather/aviation
- Technical/specialist writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use area
- “It was his area of specialization.”noun
- “The spacious cooking area provided plenty of room for servants.”noun
- “It was a mountainous area.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A number usually of 3 digits assigned to a telephone area as in the United States and Canada.
A system of units used to measure areas.
A triangular area of the front of the chest (determined by percussion).
An extensive and systematic bombing intended to devastate a large target.
Cortical areas that are neither motor or sensory but are thought to be involved in higher processing of information.
The cortical area that receives auditory information from the medial geniculate body.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Of or relating to or involving an area.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “area” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.