arable

This term is used almost exclusively in agricultural, geographical, or economic contexts to describe the physical capacity of land to support cultivation. It carries a technical, objective tone, focusing on the quality of the soil and the environment rather than the current use of the land. A plot of land is arable if it is capable of being plowed, regardless of whether it is currently being farmed.

Because it describes an inherent property of the land, it is frequently paired with nouns like land, soil, or acreage. It is distinct from fertile, which describes the richness of the soil; land can be arable (plowable) but not particularly fertile, though the two terms often overlap in general conversation.