homesteader

noun

home·​stead·​er ˈhōm-ˌste-dər 

plural homesteaders

: someone who homesteads:

a

: someone who acquires, settles on, or occupies land under a homestead law (see homestead law sense 2)

As more homesteaders arrived, they took more and more Native American land.

—Ann Byers

Her grandmother came to Kansas in a covered wagon as a homesteader in 1883 …

—Mark Binelli

b

: someone who lives frugally or self-sufficiently (as on a homestead) especially by growing and preserving food

There are modern-day homesteaders who have traded contemporary conveniences such as … a reliable internet connection to grow much of their own food and—as much as possible—live off the land …

—Chris Moody

We are city homesteaders. We have a 100-foot lot and make the most of it.

—Faye Waloch

As a homesteader, you might even fish as a means to put more food on the table.

—Kacey Mya

Many homesteaders make their own soaps, skin care items, and herbal remedies or sew or knit their own clothing, and in other ways reduce the need for shopping and consumerism.

—Kristin Lie-Nielsen

Examples of homesteader in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The American Dream, in this sense, moved from production to consumption, from homesteaders growing crops to homeowners buying appliances. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

That was whittled down to one that raises the homestead threshold for the longest-residing residents, the homesteaders. — Peggy Gossett-Seidman, Sun Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2026

But the Delgado’s don’t suddenly become brilliant homesteaders, quite the opposite. — Solitaire Townsend, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Disputes between the landowners and homesteaders continued for months and mostly played out in newspaper editorials, the Clio said. — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 15 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

homestead entry 2 + -er entry 2

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined above