area

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A roughly bounded part of the space on a surface; a region.
• noun A surface, especially an open, unoccupied piece of ground.
• noun A distinct part or section, as of a building, set aside for a specific function.
• noun A division of experience, activity, or knowledge; a field.
• noun An open, sunken space next to a building; an areaway.
• noun The extent of a planar region or of the surface of a solid measured in square units.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun In conchology, a space behind the apex of the shell, in certain bivalves, including the dorsal posterior side.
• noun In Polyzoa, the calcareous surface outlined on the zoœcium by a raised ridge.
• noun The area at the bottom of the internal auditory meatus giving passage to branches of the auditory nerve.
• noun A term sometimes used to denote the separation that must be given to two esthesiometric points impressed upon the skin if the two stimuli are to be separately sensed; the limen of dual impression.
• noun Any plane surface within boundaries; the superficies of an inclosed or defined surface-space; the superficial contents of any figure or surface; superficial extent.
• noun Any particular extent of surface; region; tract: as, the settled area of the United States.
• noun The space or site on which a building stands; the yard attached to or surrounding a house; specifically, a sunken space or inclosure before windows or a door of a basement story.
• noun A bald place on the head; a disease of the hair which causes it to fall off and leave bald patches.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun Any plane surface, as of the floor of a room or church, or of the ground within an inclosure; an open space in a building.
• noun The inclosed space on which a building stands.
• noun The sunken space or court, giving ingress and affording light to the basement of a building.
• noun An extent of surface; a tract of the earth's surface; a region.
• noun (Geom.) The superficial contents of any figure; the surface included within any given lines; superficial extent.
• noun (Biol.) A spot or small marked space.
• noun Extent; scope; range.
• noun See under Dry.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun mathematics A measure of the extent of a surface; it is measured in square units.
• noun A particular geographic region.
• noun Any particular extent of surface, especially an empty or unused extent.
• noun Figuratively, any extent, scope or range of an object or concept.
• noun UK An open space, below ground level, between the front of a house and the pavement.
• noun soccer penalty box; penalty area
• noun slang genitals

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
• noun a part of an animal that has a special function or is supplied by a given artery or nerve
• noun a particular environment or walk of life
• noun the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary
• noun a part of a structure having some specific characteristic or function
• noun a subject of study