Definition of homestead
1a : the home and adjoining land occupied by a familyb : an ancestral homec : house
2 : a tract of land acquired from U.S. public lands by filing a record and living on and cultivating the tract
From the M-W Editors
Examples of homestead in a Sentence
They decided to farm the old homestead.
Recent Examples of homestead from the Web
-
As the family prepares to leave their rural Alaskan homestead for good to be by Ami’s side, the elements of nature continue to be a struggle in their final days at home.
-
Sinker Creek was unsurveyed in 1865, which meant Joyce could not establish a formal homestead to own the land, Nettleton says.
-
HB 4844: Remove the eligibility for a property tax credit passed on a homestead taxable value cap.
-
Other activities include dog mushing at a family homestead, visits to Gates of the Arctic National Park and an Alaska Native community, and a flight-seeing tour over Denali National Park.
-
The site served as the Lars homestead and underground portion of Luke Skywalker's home.
-
About a dozen vintage 1950 cars from an abandoned homestead sit on the east side of the 1,000 acre park.
-
Residents with a homestead exemption won't face as much of an increase.
-
A number of the bills still require approval from voters before becoming law, including a statewide proposal (HB 7107, HJR 7105) that would expand the homestead exemption by $25,000, if approved by voters in November 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.
First Known Use of homestead
before 12th century
Other Government and Politics Terms
Definition of homestead
transitive verb
: to acquire or occupy as a homestead
intransitive verb
: to acquire or settle on land under a homestead law
Examples of homestead in a Sentence
They homesteaded the territory in the 1860s.
Recent Examples of homestead from the Web
-
The couple homesteaded in a pool house next door to Mr. Peralta’s beloved grandmother, with whom Ms. Howard immediately bonded.
-
Bonine, who owned the land, divided it into 1-acre lots and offered it to African-Americans to homestead in exchange for clearing the property.
-
Homestead police eventually found the then-3-year-old boy and arrested Clanetha Davis.
-
He was born in the tiny town of St. John in eastern Washington, where his family homesteaded in 1882, before statehood.
-
Citizens who homestead will potentially see a small tax break (average less than $150 a year).
-
Homesteading the desert The family’s Sunnyslope roots date to 1909, when Lillian Williamson and her husband, George Gammon, occupied the land under the Homestead Act of 1862.
-
Saratoga girls drop 2 games The Saratoga High School girls soccer team lost 2-0 to Homestead and 2-1 to Santa Clara in back-to-back games to slip to 1-4 in the De Anza Division and to 5-4-2 for the year.
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.
First Known Use of homestead
1867
Other Government and Politics Terms
Homestead
playDefinition of Homestead
city in southeastern Florida southwest of Miami population 60,512
HOMESTEAD Defined for English Language Learners
homestead
playDefinition of homestead for English Language Learners
-
: a house and the farmland it is on
-
: a piece of government land that a person could acquire by living on it and farming it when the western part of the U.S. was being settled
HOMESTEAD Defined for Kids
Definition of homestead for Students
1 : a home and the land around it
2 : a piece of land gained from United States public lands by living on and farming it
Definition of homestead for Students
homesteaded
;homesteading
: to acquire or settle on public land for use as a homestead
homesteader
\ˈhōm-ˌste-dər\ nounLaw Dictionary
homestead
playLegal Definition of homestead
1a : the home and adjoining land with any buildings that is occupied usually by a family as its principal residence b : an estate created by law in a homestead especially for the purpose of taking advantage of a homestead exemption
2 : a tract of land acquired from U.S. public lands by filing a record and living on and cultivating the tract
Learn More about homestead
-
See words that rhyme with homestead Spanish Central: Translation of homestead Nglish: Translation of homestead for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of homestead for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about homestead
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up homestead? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!