a dwelling with its land and buildings, occupied by the owner as a home and exempted by a homestead law from seizure or sale for debt.
any dwelling with its land and buildings where a family makes its home.
a tract of land acquired under the Homestead Act.
a house in an urban area acquired under a homesteading program.
a house or estate and the adjoining land, buildings, etc, esp a farm
(in the US) a house and adjoining land designated by the owner as his fixed residence and exempt under the homestead laws from seizure and forced sale for debts
(in western Canada) a piece of land, usually 160 acres, granted to a settler by the federal government
the owner's or manager's residence on a sheep or cattle station; in New Zealand the term includes all outbuildings
First recorded before 1000; Old English hāmstede; equivalent to home + stead
A homestead is a house and surrounding land owned by a family — often, it includes a farmhouse. Most people have homes, but not everyone has a homestead: that means your family owns more than a house. The homestead often consists of a farmhouse and land devoted to crops or animals. You'll find a lot more homesteads in rural areas than in cities. Often, a homestead is passed down from parents to children for generations.
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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.
Marriage changes inheritance rights in many states, and some states have homestead laws providing equity protection for the less wealthy partner.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
The Carney homestead, located in the townland of Ayle, was a standard rural dwelling of the time: a thatched cottage with two windows in the front.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
The constitutional amendment would expand the so-called homestead exemption—a reduction in the taxable value of a homeowner’s primary residence that results in a lower property-tax payment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
This is the stage set for the release of Caro Claire Burke’s debut novel “Yesteryear,” a satirical thriller in which Christian tradwife influencer Natalie awakes in an 1855 homestead with no explanation and no escape.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
We passed through homestead and swamp, traversing a distance of perhaps ten miles in all.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
In DeKalb, Ill., today, guided tours of the Ellwood House Museum and Glidden Homestead showcase lavish Victorian-era design.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
The uprooting of prairies across the Great Plains and the Dust Bowl could not have occurred without the massive settler movement triggered by the Homestead Act of 1862.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2025
Sylvester Fernandez, 73, planned to wait out the hurricane at his home in Homestead near Miami, but early Wednesday was woken by the sound of a warning on his phone.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2024
But you don’t have to do much walking to see plenty at the Urban Homestead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2024
He thought much the same must be going on in the other rooms of the Homestead.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
Neighbors judge one another for selling off family homesteads to developers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
Organizations like the Cultural Burn Association have been working with landowners to set portions of farms and homesteads alight.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2024
Climate change also can drive snakes into homesteads, he said, as they seek water in dry times and shelter in wet.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2024
They say there has also been an increase in the number of hippos, who bathe near the shores and now even closer to people's homesteads.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2023
The subdivisions proud residents seeded their lawns and planted trees for shade, hosting patio parties and many a club meeting at their homesteads.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
