rancho
Americannoun
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a ranch.
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a hut or collection of huts for herders, laborers, or travelers.
noun
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a hut or group of huts for housing ranch workers
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another word for ranch
Etymology
Origin of rancho
An Americanism first recorded in 1800–10; from Latin American Spanish: “small farm, camp” ( Spanish: “camp”), from Old Spanish rancharse “to lodge, be billeted,” from Middle French (se) ranger “to be arranged, be installed”; see range
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.
Tongva, Chumash and Cahuilla workers in California formed the backbone of rancho agriculture.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025
As the eldest of four brothers, raised by parents from a small rancho in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, she was embedded in a culture where machismo ran deep.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2025
The rancho libertarians I knew were mostly Mexican Americans, but not exclusively — there were Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Peruvians, Colombians.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2024
The late William Lyon was a prominent developer, yes, but far more fundamental to Orange County is his contemporary, Don Bren, whose Irvine Co. spans the county’s eras, from rancho days to master-planned suburbs.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 22, 2024
Contigo la milpa es rancho y el atole champurrado.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
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.
