plantation

¹

[plan-tey-shuhn]

noun

1. 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.

2. a group of planted trees or plants.

3. History/Historical.

   1. a colony or new settlement.

   2. the establishment of a colony or new settlement.

4. Archaic.,  the planting of seeds, young trees, etc.

adjective

1. (of clothing, furnishings, etc.) suitable for a plantation or for a tropical or semitropical country.

Plantation

²

[plan-tey-shuhn]

noun

1. a town in S Florida.

plantation

/ plænˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. an estate, esp in tropical countries, where cash crops such as rubber, oil palm, etc, are grown on a large scale

2. a group of cultivated trees or plants

3. (formerly) a colony or group of settlers

4. rare,  the planting of seeds, shoots, etc

Other Word Forms

• plantationlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of plantation¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English plantacioune, from Latin plantātiōn- (stem of plantātiō ) “a planting”; plant (verb), -ation

Example Sentences

Padre Tiago has threatened to eradicate American influence and to nationalize the United Fruit Co. plantations.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In western Paraná, Brazil, the Avá Guarani people have lost much of their ancestral lands to vast soy plantations.

Read more on BBC

For most of the 20th century, the prevailing view of Southern plantations was one of feudal estates with accordingly primitive systems for the extraction of labor and thereby profit from bonded toil.

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In Seaford Town, farmer and businessman Christopher Hacker saw his restaurant and nearby banana plantations flattened.

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But, as cacao plantations spread, the country has over the last six decades lost 90 percent of its forests, according to a 2021 survey.

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Related Words

• estate 
• homestead 
• orchard 
• ranch