area: Meaning and Definition of

ar•e•a

Pronunciation: (âr'ē-u), [key]
— n.
  1. any particular extent of space or surface; part: the dark areas in the painting; the dusty area of the room.
  2. a geographical region; tract: the Chicago area; the unsettled areas along the frontier.
  3. any section reserved for a specific function: the business area of a town; the dining area of a house.
  4. extent, range, or scope: inquiries that embrace the whole area of science.
  5. field of study, or a branch of a field of study: Related areas of inquiry often reflect borrowed notions.
  6. a piece of unoccupied ground; an open space.
  7. the space or site on which a building stands; the yard attached to or surrounding a house.
  8. areaway (def. 1).
  9. the quantitative measure of a plane or curved surface; two-dimensional extent.
  10. a zone of the cerebral cortex having a specific function: The damage to Broca's area affected his speech.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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