homestead

noun

home·stead | \ˈhōm-ˌsted,

-stid\

Definition of homestead

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : the home and adjoining land occupied by a family

b : an ancestral home

c : house

2 : a tract of land acquired from U.S. public lands by filing a record and living on and cultivating the tract

homestead

verb

home·stead | \ˈhōm-ˌsted

homesteaded; homesteading; homesteads

Definition of homestead (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

: to acquire or occupy as a homestead

intransitive verb

: to acquire or settle on land under a homestead law

Homestead

geographical name

Home·stead | \ˈhōm-ˌsted

Definition of Homestead (Entry 3 of 3)

city in southeastern Florida southwest of Miami population 60,512

Other Words from homestead Example Sentences Learn More about homestead

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Examples of homestead in a Sentence

Noun

They decided to farm the old homestead.

Verb

They homesteaded the territory in the 1860s.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The Native Americans then take their revenge, killing Muller and his wife and burning their homestead. — Outlander Fan, Marie Claire, "5 Biggest Takeaways From 'Outlander' Season 4 Episode 5," 3 Dec. 2018 The narrator of this novel is Jessilyn Harney, a pint-sized teenager helping her father maintain their family homestead in the mid-1880s. — Sam Sacks, WSJ, "Fiction: A Proving Ground for Men and Storytellers," 16 Aug. 2018 The Earp homestead is built on a bedrock of ammonite, which acts as a powerful revenant repellant. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Wynonna Earp’s wild season 3 finale takes the series to a whole new level," 2 Oct. 2018 In the 1880s, the Forni family used the property as a homestead and a summer cow camp, which will likely be eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places now that the meadows are publicly owned. — Jordan Cutler-tietjen, sacbee, "Rare mammals, hiking and more: Forest Service adds 835 acres to Eldorado National Forest," 9 July 2018 Those increased homestead and senior citizen exemptions were approved by the Illinois General Assembly and take effect in the 2017 tax year, for taxes paid this year. — Mike Nolan, Daily Southtown, "Report: Southland tax rates dip, bills head in opposite direction," 22 June 2018 Trained volunteers will work with skilled tradesmen to restore homesteads as work has advanced beyond the cleanup phase, said Davidson. — Karen Zurawski, Houston Chronicle, "Katy nonprofit forming to carry on post-Harvey work," 19 June 2018 The value of any given house almost certainly went up, and the city is charging the same tax rate, which is $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value after homestead and other exemptions. — Lauren Ritchie, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Tax roll way up — don't let wily public officials raise your taxes," 4 June 2018 Not in the vein of entertainers who only wear colorful ribbons at functions and retreat to their luxurious homesteads. — Malaika Jabali, Glamour, "Why Anthony Bourdain’s Life Is a Lesson for White Men of Privilege on How to Be an Ally," 8 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Will keeps their homesteading all but invisible in Forest Park, a nature preserve in the mountains just west of Portland, Oregon. — Colin Covert, Detroit Free Press, "‘Leave No Trace’ is a moving father-daughter story," 12 July 2018 Will keeps their homesteading all but invisible in a nature preserve just west of Portland. — Colin Covert, kansascity, "‘Leave No Trace’ is a quietly moving story of family love," 12 July 2018 Settlers, alas, chose to name it after Confederate Army surgeon Marshall Clay Woodson, who in 1875 homesteaded near here. — Brian E. Clark, latimes.com, "Two scenic San Diego hikes, mountaintop and seaside," 24 June 2018 With a change to homestead exemptions threatening future APS tax revenue, APS demanded closure of the Eastside TAD and other concessions to support the Gulch deal. — J. Scott Trubey, ajc, "Texts show Bottoms and Atlanta schools negotiating Gulch incentives," 21 June 2018 His wife's family homesteaded in Willow in the 1950s. — Erica Martinson, Anchorage Daily News, "Don Young’s conservative primary challenger," 9 June 2018 Their son, Roy, homesteaded there with his own family. — Leah Sottile, Longreads, "Bundyville Chapter Four: The Gospel of Bundy," 18 May 2018 With rents ever higher in Chelsea’s old garages and the Lower East Side’s tenements, nearly a dozen homesteading dealers have moved to a few blocks of terra nullius hemmed in by SoHo, TriBeCa and the Civic Center. — New York Times, "The 54 Galleries to See Right Now in New York," 26 Apr. 2018 The center of the community’ The 23-acre site, known as The Hill, was part of a 160-acre first homesteaded in 1891, Angus Hill and his descendants raised sheep there. — John Sowell, idahostatesman, "A new YMCA is opening this spring in Meridian. Why doesn’t it have a pool? | Idaho Statesman," 21 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'homestead.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.