Acre (acre) - Unit Information & Conversion
What is a Acre?
Definition
The acre (symbol: ac) is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 1/640 of a square mile, 43,560 square feet, or about 4,047 square meters.
History
The acre originated in medieval England as the amount of land tillable by one man behind one ox in one day. Its size varied historically but was standardized under the Weights and Measures Act of 1878 in the UK. It remains a common unit for land measurement in several countries, especially for agricultural and large residential plots.
Common Uses
- Land Measurement (US/UK etc.): Standard unit for measuring plots of land, especially farms, large residential lots, and undeveloped land in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, and other Commonwealth countries.
- Real Estate: Used in property listings and surveys for land parcels.
- Agriculture: Common unit for describing farm sizes and field areas.
Unit FAQs
How big is an acre visually?
An acre is roughly 90% of the size of an American football field (including the end zones).
How many square feet are in an acre?
There are exactly 43,560 square feet in one acre.
How many acres are in a hectare?
One hectare contains approximately 2.471 acres.
Is the acre used worldwide?
While common in the US, UK, and Commonwealth countries, it is not part of the metric system (SI) and is less common globally than the hectare or square meter for land measurement.
Acre Conversion Formulas
To Square Meter:
To Square Kilometer:
To Square Centimeter:
To Square Millimeter:
To Square Inch:
To Square Foot:
To Square Yard:
To Square Mile:
To Hectare:
Convert Acre
Need to convert Acre to other area units? Use our conversion tool.