1. An area of land devoted to the cultivation of fruit or nut trees.
2. The trees cultivated in such an area.

[Middle English, from Old English orceard, alteration of ortgeard : perhaps wyrt, wort, plant; see wort¹ + geard, yard.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.