plantation

noun

plan·​ta·​tion plan-ˈtā-shən How to pronounce plantation (audio)
1
: a usually large group of plants and especially trees under cultivation
2
: a settlement in a new country or region
Plymouth Plantation
3
a
: a place that is planted or under cultivation
b
: an agricultural estate usually worked by resident labor

Examples of plantation in a Sentence

the struggling plantation almost failed during the first winter
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
According to the San Diego Zoo, most pygmy hippos living in American zoos have ancestry that ties back to Billy, a pygmy given to President Calvin Coolidge in 1927 from American tire mogul Harvey Firestone, who owned a rubber plantation in Liberia. Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 5 Sep. 2025 Gullah Geechee people are descendants of West and Central Africans who were enslaved on the rice, indigo and cotton plantations on the Sea Islands of the lower Atlantic states, including part of north Florida. Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025 Lung-function testing used race corrections derived from slavery-era plantation medicine, leading to widespread underdiagnosis of serious lung disease in Black patients. Craig Spencer, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025 The researchers conducted a field experiment in a conifer plantation forest at the Xitou Nature Educational Area of National Taiwan University. Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for plantation

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of plantation was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Plantation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plantation. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

plantation

noun
plan·​ta·​tion plan-ˈtā-shən How to pronounce plantation (audio)
1
: a group of plants and especially trees planted and cared for
2
: a settlement in a new country or region : colony
3
: a planted area
especially : an agricultural estate worked by laborers

Geographical Definition

Plantation

geographical name

city in southeastern Florida west of Fort Lauderdale population 84,955

More from Merriam-Webster on plantation

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