noun
homestead
HOHM-stehd
noun
1
A house along with its land and outbuildings, especially a farm.
"The family homestead had been passed down for three generations."
verb
1
To settle on and farm a piece of land in order to claim ownership of it.
"Many pioneers homesteaded land in the Midwest during the 1800s."
How to Use Homestead
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA house and its surrounding farmland — or, as a verb, the act of settling and working unclaimed land to earn ownership of it.
Common pairings
family homestead
homestead land
Word Forms
homesteaded past tense, homesteads plural, homesteads singular
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Etymology
From Old English hāmstede, literally "home-place," from home + stead ("place").