ranch

American  

[ranch] / ræntʃ /

noun

1. an establishment maintained for raising livestock under range conditions.

2. Chiefly Western U.S. and Canada. a large farm used primarily to raise one kind of crop or animal.

   a mink ranch.

3. a dude ranch.

4. the persons employed or living on a ranch.

5. ranch house.

6. ranch dressing.

   I’ll have the small salad, with ranch on the side.

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verb (used without object)

1. to manage or work on a ranch.

ranch British  

/ rɑːntʃ /

noun

1. a large tract of land, esp one in North America, together with the necessary personnel, buildings, and equipment, for rearing livestock, esp cattle

2. 1. any large farm for the rearing of a particular kind of livestock or crop

      a mink ranch

   2. the buildings, land, etc, connected with it

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verb

1. (intr) to manage or run a ranch

2. (tr) to raise (animals) on or as if on a ranch

Other Word Forms

• ranchless adjective
• ranchlike adjective
• unranched adjective

Etymology

Origin of ranch

An Americanism dating from 1800–10; from Spanish rancho “farm, cattle farm, ranch”; rancho

Example Sentences

Once they confirmed the presence of Oseguera, who was wanted for organized crime and weapons possession, they decided to raid the ranch.

From Barron's

Traditional western dramas were more likely to depict vaqueros as bandits than hard-working ranch hands whose contributions were fundamental to the American West.

From Los Angeles Times

But the agency did discover that a network of UFO believers within the Defense Department had created a program that investigated accounts of interdimensional creatures and werewolves on a ranch in Utah.

From The Wall Street Journal

New Mexico shelved its initial investigation into the ranch in 2019 upon request from federal prosecutors in New York.

From BBC

Our horses, our ranches, our rodeos—the entire romance of the cowboy archetype . . . these were born in Spain.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dairy farm
• estate
• homestead
• land
• plantation