What does "yard" mean?
A small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building.
Yard
/jɑːd/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building.
- Grammar: yard is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: grounds, $100, 1000, area.
- Useful contrasts: indoor, indoors, inside.
- Usage evidence: Give him an inch and he'll take a yard.
How to use "yard"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "yard" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "yard" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "yard" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "yard" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "grounds" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building.
"'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed."
- 2 A unit of length equal to 3 feet in the US customary and British imperial systems of measurement, equal to precisely 0.9144 m since 1959 (US) or 1963 (UK).
"Thinks I to myself, “Sol, you're run off your course again. This is a rich man's summer ‘cottage’[…].” So I started to back away again into the bushes. But I hadn't backed more'n a couple of yards when I see something so amazing that I couldn't help scooching down behind the bayberries and looking at it."
- 3 10⁹, A short scale billion; a long scale thousand millions or milliard.
"I need to hedge a yard of yen."
- 4 an enclosure for animals (as chicken or livestock) wordnet
- 5 The property surrounding one's house, typically dominated by one's lawn. Australia, Canada, US
Show 24 more definitions
- 6 A unit of length equal to 3 feet in the US customary and British imperial systems of measurement, equal to precisely 0.9144 m since 1959 (US) or 1963 (UK).; Ellipsis of square yard, a unit of area; common with textiles. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal
- 7 One hundred, usually referring to currency or money's worth. slang
"How much coke you want? Gimme a yard."
- 8 a long horizontal spar tapered at the end and used to support and spread a square sail or lateen wordnet
- 9 An enclosed outdoors area designated for a specific purpose, e.g. on farms, railways etc.
"A little further on, to the right, was a large garage, where the charabancs stood, half in and half out of the yard."
- 10 A unit of length equal to 3 feet in the US customary and British imperial systems of measurement, equal to precisely 0.9144 m since 1959 (US) or 1963 (UK).; Ellipsis of cubic yard, a unit of volume; common in mining and earthmoving. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal
- 11 the enclosed land around a house or other building wordnet
- 12 A place where moose or deer herd together in winter for pasture, protection, etc.
- 13 Units of similar composition or length in other systems.
- 14 an area having a network of railway tracks and sidings for storage and maintenance of cars and engines wordnet
- 15 One’s house or home. Jamaica, Multicultural-London-English
"Man’s devilish cunt, tell me nutting about friends, that’s dead Cuz I run up in yards, No vest, tryna ching man’s chest And leave him dead"
- 16 Any spar carried aloft.
- 17 a tract of land enclosed for particular activities (sometimes paved and usually associated with buildings) wordnet
- 18 Any spar carried aloft.; A long tapered timber hung on a mast to which is bent a sail, and may be further qualified as a square, lateen, or lug yard. The first is hung at right angles to the mast, the last two hang obliquely.
- 19 a tract of land where logs are accumulated wordnet
- 20 A branch, twig, or shoot. obsolete
- 21 a unit of volume (as for sand or gravel) wordnet
- 22 A staff, rod, or stick. obsolete
- 23 a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride wordnet
- 24 A penis. obsolete
"Loues her by the foot. Dum. He may not by the yard."
- 25 the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100 wordnet
- 26 100 dollars. US, slang, uncommon
- 27 The yardland, an obsolete English unit of land roughly understood as 30 acres. obsolete
"You must note, that two Fardells of Land make a Nooke of Land, and two Nookes make halfe a Yard of Land."
- 28 The rod, a surveying unit of (once) 15 or (now) 16+¹⁄₂ feet. obsolete
- 29 The rood, area bound by a square rod, ¹⁄₄ acre. obsolete
Verb
- 1 To confine to a yard. transitive
"As they reached the door, Bose, having yarded the cows, was stealing around the corner of the pig-sty, and making for the woods."
- 2 To move a yard at a time, as opposed to inching along. humorous, intransitive
"He inched his way up the corridor as if he would rather be yarding his way down it, which was true."
Proper Noun
- 1 Scotland Yard or New Scotland Yard
- 2 The Metropolitan Police Service figuratively, metonymically
- 3 Jamaica Jamaica
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Give him an inch and he'll take a yard."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "yard"?
Common synonyms include: grounds, $100, 1000, area, arena, armory.
How do you use "yard" in a sentence?
Give him an inch and he'll take a yard.
How do you pronounce "yard"?
Pronounced /jɑːd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English yerd, yard, ȝerd, ȝeard, from Old English ġeard (“yard, garden, fence, enclosure”), from Proto-West Germanic *gard, from Proto-Germanic *gardaz (“enclosure, yard”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰórdʰos, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ- (“to enclose”). See also North Frisian guard, Guart (“garden, yard”), Dutch gaard, gaarde (“garden, yard”), German Garten (“garden, yard”), Danish, Swedish gård (“farm, estate, land; court, yard”), Faroese, Icelandic garður (“garden; fence”), Norn gart (“farm”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk gard, gård (“farm; townhouse”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌳𐍃 (gards, “court, yard; house”), Lithuanian gardas (“pen, enclosure”), Russian го́род (górod, “town”), Serbo-Croatian, Slovene grad (“town”), Albanian gardh (“fence”), Romanian gard (“fence”), Avestan 𐬔𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬛𐬵𐬀 (gərədha, “dev's cave”), Sanskrit गृह (gṛha, “house, habitation, home, dwelling”)), Medieval Latin gardinus, jardinus (“garden, yard”). Doublet of garden, garth, and gord.
Etymology 2
From Middle English ȝerde, yerd, ȝerd, from Old English ġierd (“branch; rod, staff; measuring stick; yardland”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaʀd, from Proto-Germanic *gazdaz. Cognate with Dutch gard (“twig”), German Gerte and probably related to Latin hasta (“spear”).
Etymology 3
Clipping of milliard.