Lyla Lindsey
An acre is a unit of land area used in the British imperial and United States customary systems. It is defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 43,560 square feet or about 4,047 square metres. In Australia, the acre is no longer a statute measure, but it is still lawful to use for trade if given as supplementary information and is not used for land registration.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Square feet | 43,560 |
| Square yards | 4,840 |
| Square meters | 4,046.8564224 or 4,047 |
| Hectares | 0.404686 or 0.4047 |
| Square kilometres | 0.00404686 |
| Square miles | 1/640 |
| Metres on each side | 69.57 or 208.71 |
| Feet on each side | 208 or 208.71 |
| Yards on each side | 69.57 |
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What You'll Learn
An acre is a unit of land area
The acre is not commonly used in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, and it is not a statute measure in these countries. However, it is still used in many established and former Commonwealth of Nations countries.
The exact size of an acre can vary slightly depending on the definition of a yard, as there are alternative definitions. The international acre, based on the international yard and pound agreement of 1959, is calculated as 4,046.8564224 square metres. In the United States, surveyors use both the international acre and the US survey acre, which is calculated using a different definition of the inch. The US survey acre is approximately 4,046.872 square metres.
To visualise an acre, it can be helpful to think of it as a square with sides of about 208 feet or 69.57 yards. This is approximately the size of 60% of a soccer pitch, 75% of an American football field, or 16 tennis courts in a 4x4 formation. An acre can also accommodate 156 parking spaces in a standard grid formation or about 15 campsites for those living the RV lifestyle.
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It's used in the British imperial and US customary systems
The acre is a unit of land area used in the British imperial and the United States customary systems. The word "acre" is derived from the Norman, attested for the first time in a text of Fécamp in 1006, meaning "agrarian measure". The acre dates back to the old Scandinavian "akr", meaning "cultivated field, ploughed land", which is perpetuated in Icelandic and the Faroese "akur", meaning "field (wheat)". The Anglo-Saxon acre was defined as a strip of land 1 x 1/10 furlong, or 40 x 4 rods (660 x 66 feet).
In the British Imperial System, the acre is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, 1/640th of a square mile, 4,840 square yards, or 43,560 square feet, and approximately 4,047 square metres, or about 40% of a hectare. The acre is sometimes abbreviated to "ac" but is usually spelled out as the word "acre".
In the United States Customary System, the acre is also defined as 43,560 square feet or 4,840 square yards. The US system also recognises the "builder's acre", which is an even 40,000 square feet (3,700 square metres) or 200 by 200 feet (61 x 61 metres). This is used in real-estate development to simplify the math and for marketing. It is nearly 10% smaller than a survey acre, and the discrepancy has led to lawsuits alleging misrepresentation.
Historically, the Irish acre was based on a perch of 7 yards, differing from the English acre, which was based on the English foot and pound avoirdupois. Following the Acts of Union 1800, which united Ireland with Great Britain, the Irish continued to use their own units of measurement. However, by the early 19th century, many commodities had their own set of units, and efforts were made to standardise measurements in both countries. In 1873, a committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science introduced the concept of coherence into units of measure, proposing new units for force and work in the CGS system.
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It's approximately 43,560 square feet
An acre is a unit of land area used in the British imperial and United States customary systems. Although it is not used as a statute measure in Australia, it is still a useful way to measure large tracts of land. An acre is approximately 43,560 square feet, or around 4,047 square metres.
To visualise an acre as a square, imagine an area that is 208 feet long by 208 feet wide. If you're a sports fan, an acre is about 60% of a soccer pitch, 75% of an American football field, or 16 tennis courts in a 4x4 formation. If you prefer, you can think of a car park containing 150 cars parked in a square, or 156 parking spaces in a standard grid formation.
An acre can be measured in any shape, as long as the total area of land is 43,560 square feet. For example, your land could be 208 feet long and 209 feet wide, giving a total area of 43,472 square feet, which would be just under one acre.
In addition to square feet, an acre can be measured in other units. It is defined as one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is equal to 10 square chains, 4,840 square yards, or about 40% of a hectare.
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It's 4,840 square yards
An acre is a unit of land area used in the British imperial and United States customary systems. While it is no longer used as a statute measure in Australia, it is still used in land sales. An acre is equal to 4,840 square yards.
To visualise the size of an acre, imagine a square with sides of 69.57 yards or 208 feet and 9 inches (63.61 metres). This square would enclose an area of one acre, which is approximately 4,047 square metres or 0.4047 hectares. In other words, an acre is 43,560 square feet, or 1/640th of a square mile.
The acre is a flexible unit of measurement, as it can be applied to any shape, including rectangles, circles, and hexagons. The only requirement is that the total area of land equals 43,560 square feet. For example, a piece of land measuring 208 feet by 209 feet would be just under an acre.
To better understand how big an acre is, it can be compared to other areas. For instance, an acre is 60% of a soccer pitch, 75% of an American football field, or the size of 15 tennis courts or 156 parking spaces.
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It's not used as a statute measure in Australia
An acre is a unit of land area used in the British imperial and United States customary systems. It is defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is equal to 10 square chains, 4,840 square yards, or 43,560 square feet. While it is still used in some Commonwealth countries, it is not a statute measure in Australia.
In Australia, the acre is not a statutory measure, although it may still be used for trade as supplementary information and is not used for land registration. Instead, Australia predominantly uses the metric system for measurements. Thus, land area in Australia is typically measured in square metres, hectares, or square kilometres.
Historically, the acre was understood as a strip of land sized at forty perches long and four perches wide, or the amount of land that could be ploughed by one man and an ox in a day. This definition was not very precise, as it depended on the varying abilities of the ox. As a result, surveyors began to define the acre using standard measurements.
Today, an acre can be measured in any shape, including rectangles, circles, or hexagons, as long as the total area is 43,560 square feet. To visualise this area, one can imagine a square with sides of approximately 208 feet, a soccer pitch that is 60% full, 75% of an American football field, or 16 tennis courts in a 4x4 formation.
While the acre is not a statute measure in Australia, it is still used colloquially and for trade, allowing for easy conversion to the metric system.
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Frequently asked questions
There are 43,560 square feet in an acre.
There are approximately 4,047 square meters in an acre.
An acre is large enough to fit 15 to 16 tennis courts.
