homestead
noun
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.
Showing results for homestead.
Search instead for
home stead.
homestead
1 American
[hohm-sted, -stid]
/ ˈhoʊm stɛd, -stɪd /
noun
-
homesteads
plural
-
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.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
Homestead
2
American
[hohm-sted, -stid]
/ ˈhoʊm stɛd, -stɪd /
noun
homestead
British
/ ˈhəʊmˌstɛd, -stɪd /
noun
-
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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of homestead
First recorded before 1000; Old English hāmstede; equivalent to home + stead
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing homestead
There's No Word Like Home
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Life Is So Good
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Purple Hibiscus
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Biddy Mason was previously honored in 1989, when a mini-park off Spring and 3rd streets was built to memorialize her on her original homestead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Periodically, the soft-spoken and generous man flies his Cessna into town to scavenge soda pop for a dozen or so cherubic Mennonite children on a nearby homestead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
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 proposed constitutional amendment would increase the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
He concurred that such lively observations about homestead life would be of general interest to his readership.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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
While Homestead will not face the brunt of the storm, he said it was "too risky" to stay, although most of his neighbours "don't want to leave".
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
“We have the Homestead to hide in—and if that ain’t workin’, the Map Room and the Slammer.
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
Fittingly, they have been called, in more recent years, seasteads, after the homesteads of the American West.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025
Organizations like the Cultural Burn Association have been working with landowners to set portions of farms and homesteads alight.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2024
Years ago, I made a white-knuckled jet-boat trip deep into the Idaho backcountry, where a trail of blossoming lilacs marked former homesteads along the Salmon River.
From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2024
As he neared the Hickock farm, he stopped at several neighboring homesteads, ostensibly to ask directions, actually to make inquiries concerning the suspect.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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.
