a large farm or estate in a tropical or semitropical zone, for the cultivation of cotton, tobacco, coffee, sugarcane, etc., typically by enslaved, unpaid, or low-wage resident laborers.
a group of planted trees or plants.
History/Historical.
a colony or new settlement.
the establishment of a colony or new settlement.
Archaic. the planting of seeds, young trees, etc.
an estate, esp in tropical countries, where cash crops such as rubber, oil palm, etc, are grown on a large scale
a group of cultivated trees or plants
(formerly) a colony or group of settlers
rare the planting of seeds, shoots, etc
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English plantacioune, from Latin plantātiōn- (stem of plantātiō ) “a planting”; see plant (verb), -ation
A plantation is a large agricultural property dedicated to planting a few crops on a large scale. If you dream of having 3,000 acres to raise cucumbers on, then you have dreams of a cucumber plantation. Plantation doesn't have to only mean massive single-product farms. A small grove of trees is also called a plantation, but usually when we use the word we mean the big farms. In the United States prior to the Civil War, crops like cotton and tobacco were grown on plantations in the South by exploiting the labor of enslaved people. In Latin America, many international companies own banana and coffee plantations.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She had worked all her life; even as a small child, her school year was abbreviated so she could chop cotton for a few months on the plantation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
He was unable to train that day because he had not had time to collect his kit after finishing work at a papaya plantation.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
Gloria Terranova, a 59-year-old coffee plantation worker, said she held out hope that Cepeda might still win the presidency despite finishing second in the first round.
From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026
Audubon, who was born in Haiti and grew up in France, moved to Pennsylvania where he lived on his father's plantation.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
George Washington grew up in the world of Virginia plantation slavery.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
