area: Meaning and Definition of

ar•e•a

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.