Definition

1. Noun:
   • A unit of length: A standard measure equal to 3 feet or 0.9144 meters.
   • An enclosed area of ground: The land immediately surrounding a house or other building, often used for activities or gardening.
   • An enclosure for animals: A fenced area for keeping livestock or poultry.
   • An area for work or storage: A site with facilities for a specific industrial or commercial activity, such as repair, construction, or storage.
   • A spar on a ship: A long, tapered pole slung across a mast to support and spread a square sail.

Usage

• As a unit of measurement: Use "yard" to specify linear distance, especially in contexts using the imperial system (e.g., fabric, football fields).
• As an area around a house: Use "yard" to refer to the outdoor space belonging to a residence.
• As a work or storage area: Use "yard" to describe a business premises for activities like construction, rail maintenance, or lumber storage.
• As a nautical term: Use "yard" to refer to the spar on a sailing ship.

Examples

• Unit of length:
  • The fabric is sold by the yard.
  • He can throw a football fifty yards.
• Area around a house:
  • The children are playing in the front yard.
  • We have a small vegetable garden in the backyard.
• Work or storage area:
  • The old cars were taken to the scrap yard.
  • The train was moved to the switching yard.
• Nautical spar:
  • The sailors climbed the mast to adjust the sail on the yard.

Advanced Usage

• "The whole nine yards": Everything possible or available; the full extent.
  • They went all out for the party—decorations, catering, the whole nine yards.
• "To yard" (verb, rare/archaic): To drive or gather into an enclosure.
  • The cowhands yarded the cattle before the storm.

Variants and Related Words

• Backyard (n): The yard at the back of a house.
• Shipyard (n): A place where ships are built or repaired.
• Yardstick (n): A measuring rod one yard long; (figuratively) a standard for comparison.
• Yardage (n): Measurement or length in yards.

Synonyms

• Enclosure: A closed-in area.
• Court: A quadrangular area, often surrounded by buildings.
• Compound: An enclosed area with buildings.
• Patch: A small area of ground.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Yard up (Australian/NZ): To herd livestock into a yard.
  • They need to yard up the sheep for shearing.

Related Idioms

• To play in one's own backyard: To operate or compete in a familiar or local area.
  • The big corporation is now playing in our backyard with a new local store.

Noun

1. an enclosure for animals (as chicken or livestock)
2. a long horizontal spar tapered at the end and used to support and spread a square sail or lateen
3. an area having a network of railway tracks and sidings for storage and maintenance of cars and engines
4. a tract of land where logs are accumulated
5. a unit of volume (as for sand or gravel)
6. the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
7. a tract of land enclosed for particular activities (sometimes paved and usually associated with buildings)
   • they opened a repair yard on the edge of town
8. the enclosed land around a house or other building
   • it was a small house with almost no yard
9. a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride