yard1
  
  n.
   - 
(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.
 - a cylindrical spar, tapering to each end, slung across a ship's mast for a sail to hang from.
 - US informal one hundred dollars.
 
 
  Phrase
  
    
      - by the yard
 in large numbers or quantities. 
    
   
  Etymology
  OE gerd, of W. Gmc origin.
 
  
    
yard2
  
  n.
    - 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.
 - N. Amer. the garden of a house.
 - 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.
 - 
(Yard)
 (among expatriate Jamaicans) home; Jamaica.
 
v.
  - N. Amer. store or transport (wood) in or to a timber yard.
 - put (farm animals) into an enclosure.
 
 
  Etymology
  OE geard ‘building, home, region’, from a Gmc base rel. to garden and orchard.