arable
/'ærəbl/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- (Of land) suitable for growing crops: Describes land that can be plowed and used to grow crops. The primary meaning relates to soil quality and agricultural potential.
Usage
- The word arable is used almost exclusively as an adjective to describe land, soil, or farmland.
- It is a formal or technical term common in agricultural, geographical, and economic contexts.
- It describes a or , not the current use. Land can be arable but left fallow or unused.
Examples
- Adjective:
- The country has a limited amount of arable land.
- The valley's rich, arable soil supports extensive farming.
- Converting forest into arable land can have environmental consequences.
Advanced Usage
- "Arable farming": A specific type of agriculture focused on growing crops (as opposed to pastoral farming, which focuses on raising animals).
- The region's economy is based on arable farming, mainly wheat and barley.
- In historical or economic contexts, it can be used as a mass noun concept.
- The expansion of arable was a key factor in the settlement.
Variants and Related Words
- Arability (noun): The quality or state of being arable.
- The arability of the soil depends on its depth and drainage.
- Non-arable (adjective): Land not suitable for growing crops.
- The rocky hillside was non-arable.
Synonyms
- Cultivable / Cultivatable: Capable of being cultivated. (Very close synonym)
- Fertile: Producing or capable of producing abundant vegetation or crops. (Note: Fertile is a broader term; all arable land is fertile for crops, but not all fertile land—like a fertile forest floor—is necessarily considered arable for plowing and farming.)
- Productive (in an agricultural context).
Antonyms
- Infertile: Not able to produce crops.
- Barren: Too poor to produce much or any vegetation.
- Uncultivable / Uncultivatable: Not capable of being cultivated.
Adjective
- (of farmland) capable of being farmed productively