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area

a·re·aUK /ˈɛəɹi.ə/noun

area is spelled A-R-E-A: 4 letters and 3 syllables (a·re·a). It appears 288 times per million words in written English, the 329th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, area means “A measure of the extent of a surface; it is measured in square units” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of area is areas; Wiktionary also lists areæ (archaic).

How many letters and syllables are in area?

Letters4: A-R-E-A
Syllables3: a·re·a
In writing288 times per million words; the 329th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is area?

Area appears 288 times per million words in written English, the 329th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce area?

  • UK /ˈɛəɹi.ə/
  • UK [ˈɛː.ɹi.ə]
  • British /ˈɛːɹɪjə/

Area has 3 syllables, split a·re·a in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-area.wav, En-us-area.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of area

  • areas plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does area mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A measure of the extent of a surface; it is measured in square units.

  2. 2

    A particular geographic region.

  3. 3

    Any particular extent of surface, especially an empty or unused extent.

    The photo is a little dark in that area.

  4. 4

    The extent, scope, or range of an object or concept.

    The plans are a bit vague in that area.

  5. 5

    UKAn open space, below ground level, giving access to the basement of a house, and typically separated from the pavement by railings.

  6. 6

    Penalty box; penalty area.

  7. 7

    slangGenitals.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Area in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchaire (maths: measure of extent of a surface), région (particular geographic region), domaine (figuratively, any extent, scope or range)
GermanFlächeninhalt, Oberfläche (maths: measure of extent of a surface), Gebiet, Gegend (particular geographic region), Bereich (any particular extent)
Portugueseárea (maths: measure of extent of a surface), região (particular geographic region), lugar (any particular extent)
Spanishárea (maths: measure of extent of a surface), región (particular geographic region), patio inglés (open space, below ground level, between the…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does area come from?

Learned borrowing from Latin ārea.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after area