rancho
Americannoun
-
a ranch.
-
a hut or collection of huts for herders, laborers, or travelers.
noun
-
a hut or group of huts for housing ranch workers
-
another word for ranch
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
So far, they’ve primarily performed at family parties, quinceañeras and as opening acts at informal rancho festivals.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2025
“If they want us to put it in, it has to be put in,” he said with a rancho libertarian tone, mixing resignation and matter-of-factness.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2024
It was all one rancho before you came.”
From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck
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.
