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.