acre inch
- noun
- /ˈeɪkər ɪnʧ/
- Specialized
- The irrigation system was designed to deliver one acre inch of water per week during the growing season.
Examples
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Farmers often measure rainfall in acre inches to estimate its impact on their crops.
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A reservoir with a capacity of 100 acre inches can irrigate several small fields.
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The farmer measured the field in acre inches.
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One acre inch of water can significantly impact crop yield.
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Farmers often measure rainfall in acre inches to determine how much water their crops receive.
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The irrigation system can apply one acre inch of water each week during dry spells.
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A reservoir with a capacity of 50 acre inches is sufficient to supply water for multiple fields.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term is a straightforward compound of two unit words: 'acre' (area) and 'inch' (length), so its meaning as the volume equal to one acre covered to a depth of one inch is directly derivable from the constituents (area × depth). This is a regular, compositional formation common for measurement units and therefore a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the meaning despite its technicality.
Etymology
Acre inch comes from a simple picture: imagine covering a whole acre of land with water one inch deep. So acre inch means the 'volume of water' that covers one acre to a depth of one inch.