yard1
¦ noun
1. (abbrev.: yd) a unit of linear measure equal to 3 feet (0.9144 metre).
a square or cubic yard, especially of sand or other building materials.
2. a cylindrical spar, tapering to each end, slung across a ship's mast for a sail to hang from.
3. US informal one hundred dollars.
Phrases
by the yard in large numbers or quantities.
Origin
OE gerd, of W. Gmc origin.
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yard2
¦ noun
1. chiefly Brit. a piece of uncultivated ground adjoining a building, typically one enclosed by walls.
an area of land used for a particular purpose or business: a builder's yard.
2. N. Amer. the garden of a house.
3. W. Indian a house and the land attached.
a residential compound comprising a number of small rented dwellings around a shared open area.
S. African a plot of land accommodating a number of rooms let out as living space.
4. (Yard) (among expatriate Jamaicans) home; Jamaica.
¦ verb
1. N. Amer. store or transport (wood) in or to a timber yard.
2. put (farm animals) into an enclosure.
Origin
OE
geard 'building, home, region', from a Gmc base related to
garden and
orchard.