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

Some left for the oilfield to make more money and returned with high payments on new pickups, but couldn’t find ranch work.

From Barron's

A Chapman University spokesman said it is “looking into” the emails of John “Jack” Horner, a paleontologist whose exchanges in the federal documents show he visited Epstein’s New Mexico ranch.

From Los Angeles Times

My family first lived in a gold-colored, stucco ranch house with a black roof in a middle-class section of Woodland Hills.

From The Wall Street Journal

The actor noted that the family had embraced an abundance of wildlife on the ranch, and added pigs, chickens, horses, dogs, and cats to their brood.

From MarketWatch

Patrick's work ranges from the small family farm or ranch on the plains, to the boardrooms of some of the largest agriculture companies.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dairy farm
• estate
• homestead
• land
• plantation