/ ˈeəriə; NAmE ˈeriə/ noun
PART OF PLACE
1.
[ C ] part of a place, town, etc., or a region of a country or the world :
mountainous / desert areas
rural / urban / inner-city areas
There is heavy traffic in the downtown area tonight.
She knows the local area very well.
John is the London area manager.
Wreckage from the plane was scattered over a wide area .
The farm and surrounding area was flooded.
—see also catchment area , conservation area , development area , no-go area
2.
[ C ] a part of a room, building or particular space that is used for a special purpose :
the hotel reception area
a play / parking / dining area
—see also rest area , service area
PARTICULAR PLACE
3.
[ C ] a particular place on an object :
Move the cursor to a blank area of the computer screen.
The tumour had not spread to other areas of the body.
SUBJECT / ACTIVITY
4.
[ C ] area (of sth) a particular subject or activity, or an aspect of it :
the areas of training and development
Finance is Mark's area.
The big growth area of recent years has been in health clubs.
—see also grey area
MEASUREMENT
5.
[ C , U ] the amount of space covered by a flat surface or piece of land, described as a measurement :
the area of a triangle
The room is 12 square metres in area.
FOOTBALL
6.
the area ( BrE ) ( in football ( soccer ) ) = the penalty area :
He shot from just outside the area.
••
WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (in the sense space allocated for a specific purpose ): from Latin , literally vacant piece of level ground .