A yard is a unit of length equal to thirty-six inches or approximately 91.4 centimetres.
The incident took place about 500 yards from where he was standing. [+ from]
A few yards away, José Vargas stands beside his small home.
...a long narrow strip of linen two or three yards long.
...a yard of silk. [+ of]
2. countable noun
A yard is a flat area of concrete or stone that is next to a building and often has a wall around it.
I saw him standing in the yard.
Synonyms: courtyard, court, garden, backyard More Synonyms of yard
3. countable noun
You can refer to a large open area where a particular type of work is done as a yard.
...a railway yard.
...a ship repair yard.
Synonyms: workshop, works, plant, industrial unit More Synonyms of yard
4. countable noun
A yard is a piece of land next to someone's house, with grass and plants growing in it.
[US]
He dug a hole in our yard on Edgerton Avenue to plant a maple tree when I was born.
regional note: in BRIT, use garden
yard in British English1
(jɑːd)
noun
1.
a unit of length equal to 3 feet and defined in 1963 as exactly 0.9144 metre
Abbreviation: yd
2.
a cylindrical wooden or hollow metal spar, tapered at the ends, slung from a mast of a square-rigged or lateen-rigged vessel and used for suspending a sail
3. short for yardstick (sense 2)
4. put in the hard yards
5. the whole nine yards
Word origin
Old English gierd rod, twig; related to Old Frisian jerde, Old Saxon gerdia, Old High German gertia, Old Norse gaddr
yard in British English2
(jɑːd)
noun
1.
a piece of enclosed ground, usually either paved or laid with concrete and often adjoining or surrounded by a building or buildings
2.
a.
an enclosed or open area used for some commercial activity, for storage, etc
a railway yard
b.
(in combination)
a brickyard
a shipyard
3. a US and Canadian word for garden (sense 1)
4.
an area having a network of railway tracks and sidings, used for storing rolling stock, making up trains, etc
5. US and Canadian
the winter pasture of deer, moose, and similar animals
6. Australian and New Zealand
an enclosed area used to draw off part of a herd, etc
7. New Zealand short for saleyard, stockyard
verb(transitive)
8.
to draft (animals), esp to a saleyard
Word origin
Old English geard; related to Old Saxon gard, Old High German gart, Old Norse garthr yard, Gothic gards house, Old Slavonic gradu town, castle, Albanian garth hedge
Yard in British English
(jɑːd)
noun
the Yard
yard in American English1
(jɑrd)
noun
1.
a.
a unit of length in the FPS system, equal to 3 feet or 36 inches (0.9144 meter): abbrev. yd
b.
a cubic yard, equal to 27 cubic feet or 46,656 cubic inches (0.7646 cubic meter)
2. Nautical
a.
a slender rod or spar, tapering toward the ends, fastened at right angles across a mast to support a sail
b.
the transverse member of a mast on non-sailing ships: used to hold signal flags, lights, etc.
3. US, Slang, Obsolete
one hundred dollars or, sometimes, one thousand dollars
Idioms:
the whole nine yards
Word origin
ME yerde < OE gierd, rod, staff, yard measure, akin to obs. Ger gerte, rod < IE *hazdho-, var. of base *ghasto-, rod, pole > L hasta, pole, spear
yard in American English2
(jɑrd)
noun
1.
a.
the space or grounds surrounding or surrounded by a building or group of buildings
often in combination
churchyard, farmyard, etc.
b.
a plot of grass adjacent to a building, house, etc.
2.
a pen or other enclosure for livestock or poultry
3.
an enclosed place used for a particular purpose or business
a lumberyard, shipyard
4.
a place where wild deer, moose, etc. herd together for feeding during the winter
5.
a railroad center where trains are made up, serviced, switched from track to track, etc.
verb transitive
6.
to put, keep, or enclose in a yard
often with up
Idioms:
the Yard
Word origin
ME yerd < OE geard, enclosure, akin to ON garthr, OHG gart, garden < IE *gherdh-, to enclose, surround (> girdle, Russ górod, town) < base *her-, to grasp, contain
Examples of 'yard' in a sentence
yard
It gave us an extra yard in the next few games.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The second one is five yards offside.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They bumped into each other not long after and realised they lived in houses 100 yards apart.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The additional assistant referee was standing five yards away but was unmoved by Celtic pleas.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
For that reason, he needs to get his head down and put in the hard yards.
The Sun (2016)
It is a mere 300 yards long.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It makes a hell of a difference, that extra 440 yards.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
A few hundred square yards.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Despite most of her experience being in Flat yards it's no surprise she is doing so well with jumpers.
The Sun (2017)
When they sing like that it makes us run an extra yard.
The Sun (2016)
They were given a special seating area just yards from the stage.
The Sun (2010)
The photographer was standing about five yards away.
The Sun (2009)
How could he have put it a yard long?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
One room alone is two hundred and twenty square yards.
Elizabeth Gaskell North and South (1855)
They will not walk a few yards.
The Sun (2016)
Ready to go the whole nine yards?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Sadly he had strayed a couple of yards offside.
The Sun (2010)
They smiled and waved to each other despite being just yards apart.
The Sun (2007)
We have to run that extra yard with them.
The Sun (2006)
They had pointed out that the disused railway yard chosen as the scene of the party was too small.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Pride drove on my contemporaries and myself to succeed those names and we knew it would involve the hard yards.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
There's not one yard of flat over there.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The meeting was watched by armed men positioned in a building about 50 yards away.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We'll have a few runners from the yard next week.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The third flew into the ditch down the right and number four whistled to a halt eight yards short of the raised green.
The Sun (2008)
Word lists with
yard
Imperial system
In other languages
yard
British English: yard /jɑːd/ NOUN
unit of length A yard is a unit of length equal to 36 inches or approximately 91.4 centimetres.
...500 yards from where he was standing.
American English: yard measurement
Arabic: يَارِدَة
Brazilian Portuguese: jarda
Chinese: 码
Croatian: jard
Czech: yard
Danish: yard
Dutch: yard meting
European Spanish: yarda
Finnish: jaardi
French: yard
German: Yard
Greek: γιάρδα
Italian: iarda
Japanese: ヤード
Korean: 야드
Norwegian: yard
Polish: jard
European Portuguese: jarda
Romanian: yard
Russian: ярд
Latin American Spanish: yarda
Swedish: yard
Thai: หลา
Turkish: yarda
Ukrainian: ярд
Vietnamese: thước Anh
British English: yard /jɑːd/ NOUN
courtyard A yard is a flat area of concrete or stone that is next to a building and often has a wall around it.
I saw him standing in the yard.
American English: yard enclosure
Arabic: سَاحَة
Brazilian Portuguese: quintal
Chinese: 院子
Croatian: dvorište
Czech: dvůr
Danish: have
Dutch: binnenplaats
European Spanish: patio
Finnish: piha
French: cour
German: Hof
Greek: προαύλιο
Italian: cortile
Japanese: 庭
Korean: 구내
Norwegian: plass
Polish: podwórko
European Portuguese: quintal
Romanian: curte
Russian: двор
Latin American Spanish: patio
Swedish: gård
Thai: บริเวณบ้าน
Turkish: avlu
Ukrainian: подвір'я
Vietnamese: sân
All related terms of 'yard'
back yard
an area, usually paved , at the rear of a building
main yard
the lowest yard on the mainmast , from which the mainsail is set
navy yard
a naval shipyard , esp in the US
the Yard
→ Scotland Yard
yard sale
A yard sale is a sale where people sell things they no longer want from a table outside their house.
cloth yard
a medieval unit of measure for cloth , fixed at 37 inches by Edward VI of England: also used as a length for longbow arrows
goods yard
a railway yard where goods wagons are received and dispatched in trains
prison yard
a piece of enclosed ground attached to a prison , where prisoners may take exercise at certain times
refit yard
a yard where ships are made ready for use again by repairing, re-equipping , or resupplying
square yard
a unit of area measurement equal to a square measuring one yard on each side; 0.8361 square meters
stack-yard
a yard where stacks of hay , straw , etc, are kept
timber yard
A timber yard is a place where timber is stored and sold.
yard goods
textiles made in standard widths , usually sold by the yard
yard grass
an Old World perennial grass , Eleusine indica, with prostrate leaves, growing as a troublesome weed on open ground, yards , etc
-yard line
In football , a team's 5-yard line , or 10-yard line , and so on, is a line painted across the field and numbered, that marks the distance from the goal line.
exercise yard
a piece of enclosed ground in a prison on which inmates can exercise in order to get fit and to remain healthy
freight yard
a place on a rail network where freight trains are made up or broken up
railway yard
an area having a network of railway tracks and sidings , used for storing rolling stock, making up trains, etc
Scotland Yard
the headquarters of the police force of metropolitan London , controlled directly by the British Home Office and hence having certain national responsibilities
shunting yard
a place where railway coaches are manoeuvred
knacker's yard
a slaughterhouse for horses
six-yard box
On a football pitch, the six-yard box is the rectangular area marked in front of the goal .
yard of ale
the beer or ale contained in a narrow horn-shaped drinking glass , usually about one yard long and holding between two and three pints
marshalling yard
a place or depot where railway wagons are shunted and made up into trains and where engines, carriages , etc, are kept when not in use
six-yard area
a rectangular area to the sides and front of the goal , measuring 20 × 6 yards on a full-sized pitch , from which goal kicks are taken
six-yard line
the line marking the limits of the goal area
ten-yard rule
the rule allowing a referee , when a player disputes the award of a penalty or free kick , to penalize the offending side further by moving the place from which the kick is to be taken ten yards further forward
crude tank yard
A crude tank yard is a place where tanks of crude oil are stored .
New Scotland Yard
the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in London
scrapyard
A scrapyard is a place where old machines such as cars or ships are destroyed and where useful parts are saved.
lumberyard
A lumberyard is a place where wood is stored and sold.
schoolyard
The schoolyard is the large open area with a hard surface just outside a school building, where the schoolchildren can play and do other activities.
in one's own back yard
close at hand
all wool and a yard wide
genuine or admirable ; truly and thoroughly as described
goal area
a rectangular area to the sides and front of the goal , measuring 20 × 6 yards on a full-sized pitch , from which goal kicks are taken
Chinese translation of 'yard'
yard
(jɑːd)
n
(c/u) (= paved area) 院子 (yuànzi)
(c) (US, = garden) 庭院 (tíngyuàn) (座, zuò)
英 = garden
(= measure) 码，长度单位。一码等于3英尺或0.9144米
builder's yard建筑(築)工地 (jiànzhù gōngdì)
yd
abbr
(= yard) 码，长度单位。一码等于3英尺或0.9144米
1 (noun)
Definition
a piece of enclosed ground, often adjoining or surrounded by a building or buildings
I saw him standing in the yard.
Synonyms
courtyard
They walked through the arch and into the cobbled courtyard.
court
garden
the most beautiful garden on earth
backyard
quadrangle
We were in this little room looking out on the quadrangle.
2 (noun)
Definition
an enclosed or open area where a particular type of work is done
a railway yard
Synonyms
workshop
a small workshop for repairing secondhand motorcycles
works
plant
The plant provides forty per cent of the country's electricity.
industrial unit
Additional synonyms
in the sense of court
Definition
an area of ground wholly or partly surrounded by walls or buildings
Synonyms
courtyard,
yard,
square,
plaza,
piazza,
cloister,
quad (informal),
quadrangle
in the sense of garden
Definition
a cultivated area of land open to the public
the most beautiful garden on earth
Synonyms
grounds,
park,
plot,
patch,
lawn,
allotment,
yard (US, Canadian),
forest park (New Zealand)
in the sense of plant
Definition
a factory or workshop
The plant provides forty per cent of the country's electricity.
Synonyms
factory,
works,
shop,
yard,
mill,
foundry
Synonyms of 'yard'
yard
Explore 'yard' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of quadrangle
Definition
a rectangular courtyard with buildings on all four sides
We were in this little room looking out on the quadrangle.