Acres refers to a unit of land area traditionally measuring 43,560 square feet (approximately 4,047 square meters). It also appears in phrases like “acres of land,” signifying a large expanse. The term is used in land measurement contexts and, less formally, to describe a large quantity or extent. In everyday speech, it’s a simple plural noun with the stress on the first syllable.
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"The farmer owned acres of corn and wheat."
"They found acres of open space behind the village."
"Buying acres of land can be a long-term investment."
"The field stretches for acres, bordered by a line of oaks."
Acres comes from the Old English aecer or ecer, which referred to a measure of land area. The word is related to the Dutch acht (eight) and other Germanic terms tied to land and field measurement, reflecting historical agrarian practices. The concept of an acre was standardized in English law during the medieval period as the area a man could plow in one day with a yoke of oxen. The exact size of an acre was not uniform in early centuries, but by the 16th century the modern survey-based definition of 43,560 square feet (660 feet by 66 feet) began to crystallize in the English-speaking world, with variations in adjacent lands and colonial contexts. Today, “acre” is a fixed unit in the Imperial/US customary system, while in the metric system, it is commonly converted to hectares for comparative land-area discussions. The plural form “acres” is ubiquitous in phrases describing expansive land holdings, farming, and real estate. First known use in Old English texts dates to the 9th-11th centuries, appearing in legal and agricultural records. Across centuries, the word retained its core meaning as a land measure, even as modern cartography and land registro shifted to more precise metric and digital systems. Historically, the term also entered common idiom to imply “a large amount” beyond strict measurement, as in “acres of opportunity.”
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "acres" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "acres"
-ers sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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You pronounce it as /ˈeɪ.kərz/ in US and UK English, with primary stress on the first syllable. Start with the diphthong /eɪ/ like “face,” then the /k/ followed by a schwa to a voiced /ɹ/ (in rhotic accents) and end with a voiced /z/. In Australian English, it is similar but you may hear minor vowel length differences; keep the /ˈeɪ/ and final /z/ crisp. IPA reference: US/UK /ˈeɪ.kərz/, AU /ˈeɪ.kəz/.
Common errors include mispronouncing the first syllable as /æ/ (like “acrid”) instead of /eɪ/, or substituting /ɹ/ with a vowel sound in non-rhotic environments, or devoicing the final /z/ in rapid speech. To correct: keep the first syllable as /eɪ/ (as in ‘face’) and ensure the middle is a short /ɚ/ or /ər/ depending on accent, then finish with a voiced /z/. Practicing with minimal pairs (acres vs arcs) can help isolate the vowel and final consonant.
In US English, it’s /ˈeɚz/ or /ˈeɪ.kɚz/ with rhotic ending /ɹz/. UK English often reduces the /ɹ/ to a non-rhotic vowel-like element in some accents, giving /ˈeɪ.kəz/. Australian tends to be similar to UK but with a more centralized vowel in the second syllable and a slightly softer /ɒ/ to /ɐ/ shift, yielding /ˈeɪ.kəz/ or /ˈeɪ.kɔːz/ in casual speech depending on region. The core is the /ˈeɪ/ on the first syllable and a voiced final /z/ or /z/.” ,
The challenge lies in the vowel cluster: the first syllable has a diphthong /eɪ/ that shifts toward a mid vowel in some accents, and the second syllable involves a quick /kər/ or /kəz/ transition before the final voiced /z/. Speakers often shorten or misplace the schwa, leading to /ˈækrz/ or /ˈeɪkɹz/. Mastery requires stabilizing the diphthong, ensuring the /k/ is clear, and voicing the final /z/ without excessive aspiration.
A key feature is the contrast between /ər/ vs /əz/ ending depending on accent. In rhotic US, you’ll hear a post-alveolar approximant /ɹ/ in the second syllable before the final /z/ in many speakers, giving /ˈeɪ.kɚz/. In non-rhotic UK accents, the /ɹ/ may be less pronounced or omitted, yielding /ˈeɪ.kəz/. Awareness of the final consonant cluster and vowel length is critical to avoid conflating with close words like ‘arcs’ or ‘axers.’
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