Arable Meaning
/ˈæɹəbl̩/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjAble to be plowed or tilled, capable of growing crops (traditionally contrasted with pasturable lands such as heaths).
adjUnder cultivation (within any quinquennial period) for the production of crops sown and harvested within the same agricultural year (contrasted with permanently-cropped lands such as orchards).
Sentence Examples
Arable land is land that can be used to grow crops.
Algeria has thousands of hectares of arable land.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The fertile valley contained vast stretches of ____ land perfect for growing wheat.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The farmer used the ____ land to grow wheat and corn for the year.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English arable, from Middle French arable, from Old French arable, from Latin arābilis, formed from arō (“plow”) + -bilis (“able to be”). Cognate with earable (“arable”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And again, since no animal now stole, it was unnecessary to fence off pasture from arable land […]"
— 1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter VI, in Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC, page 50:
"Arrangements for the drainage of this piece of arable were commenced last summer"
— 1932, Dorothy L. Sayers, chapter XXII, in Have His Carcase:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The fertile valley contained vast stretches of ____ land perfect for growing wheat.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The farmer used the ____ land to grow wheat and corn for the year.