ranch

1 of 2

noun

1
: a large farm for raising horses, beef cattle, or sheep
2
: a farm or area devoted to a particular specialty
3

ranch

2 of 2

verb

ranched; ranching; ranches

intransitive verb

: to live or work on a ranch

transitive verb

1
: to work as a rancher on
2
: to raise on a ranch

Examples of ranch in a Sentence

Noun lives on a cattle ranch in Texas that's as big as the whole state of Rhode Island Verb My grandfather started ranching here 150 years ago. The family has ranched 10,000 acres here for the past 150 years. The family has been ranching cattle here for 150 years.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The last update was that the ranches had sequestered carbon the equivalent of 43,600 cars in one year. Esha Chhabra, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 For decades, the Galt family has been a force in Republican politics, as well as one of the state’s biggest private landowners, with ranches that span more than 250,000 acres. Christopher Flavelle, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2023 The 100-plus-year-old ranch offers guests the truest experience of Yellowstone Country. Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 17 Nov. 2023 Sriracha ranch makes these even more impossible to resist. Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Nov. 2023 They got married on July 3, 2021, at Shelton's ranch in rural Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 14 Nov. 2023 With an emphasis on natural materials and quality undertaken with a utilitarian perspective, the store takes inspiration both from Hearst’s family ranch in Uruguay and the city of Los Angeles’s architectural vernacular architecture. Rachel Marlowe, Vogue, 13 Nov. 2023 Many people who live among the cattle ranches and farms in the Cuyama Valley have banded together in a campaign calling for a boycott of carrots. Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2023 The houses tended to be stately Colonials, or maybe the newer ranch style. Johanna Mayer, Scientific American, 16 Nov. 2023
Verb
The family has ranched cattle in the state for more than 150 years as part of a program that issues grazing permits on allotments of public land. Mark Scaglione, NBC News, 27 Sep. 2023 Regaining access to our land has also enabled the Nation to set up a ranching operation under the ownership of our Nation. TIME, 19 Oct. 2023 The Dutton family has a lot of family dysfunction: 97% of ranching operations in the United States are family owned, so family business issues are definitely a challenge. William Earl, Variety, 17 Sep. 2023 Sheep arrived on the islands in the 19th century and chomped and stomped the land to destruction (with an assist from other ranching activities). Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2023 School-free Fridays allow some children to help their ranching families. Jackie Valley, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Sep. 2023 State government has a big focus on ranching In Idaho, our governor is a rancher and comes from a long-standing ranching family. William Earl, Variety, 17 Sep. 2023 In 1996, Robison released his solo debut album Bandera, named after the Texas city where Robison's family has ranched for eight generations since the 1840s. Michael Lee Simpson, Peoplemag, 11 Sep. 2023 The Mescal Movie Set is now owned by Kartchner Ventures, which is owned and operated by the Kartchner family, a fifth-generation ranching family from Cochise County. Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 21 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ranch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Mexican Spanish rancho small ranch, from Spanish, camp, hut & Spanish dialect, small farm, from Old Spanish ranchearse to take up quarters, from Middle French se ranger to take up a position, from ranger to set in a row — more at range

First Known Use

Noun

1831, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1851, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of ranch was in 1831

Dictionary Entries Near ranch

Cite this Entry

“Ranch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ranch. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

ranch

1 of 2 noun
1
: a place for the raising of livestock (as cattle, horses, or sheep) on range
2
: a farm devoted to a specific crop or kind of animal
a fruit ranch
a mink ranch
3

ranch

2 of 2 verb
: to live or work on a ranch

More from Merriam-Webster on ranch

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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