homesteader

[ hohm-sted-er ]

noun

1. the owner or holder of a homestead.
2. a settler under the Homestead Act.

homesteader

/ ˈhəʊmˌstɛdə /

noun

1. a person owning a homestead
2. a person who acquires or possesses land under a homestead law
3. a person taking part in a homesteading scheme

Word History and Origins

Origin of homesteader¹

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; homestead + -er ¹

Example Sentences

On the upper Buffalo, the Boxley Valley Historic District preserves structures from the 1870s to 1930s, with family farms continuing the traditions of the original homesteaders.

From Outside Online

Not in looking for financial gain, but blazing the trail and opening new frontiers, and then allowing private industry to take over in the way homesteaders expanded into the West.

From Washington Post

My great grandfather came here as a homesteader in 1882 when it was nothing but wide-open spaces.

From Washington Post

Moreover, as a homesteader, his problem was far from solved by mere access to free land.

From Project Gutenberg

The homesteader was stooping still, and he made another pace, crouching a trifle, with every muscle hardening.

From Project Gutenberg

They clustered about him, and one of them, stooping over the injured homesteader, signed to his comrades.

From Project Gutenberg

It turned out that the cowboys had been arrested for lassoing a Norwegian homesteader who had cut their wire.

From Project Gutenberg

He's after my chickens, and as new-laid eggs are worth more than Browning to a homesteader, I got out my duck-gun.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• grower
• laborer
• peasant
• producer
• rancher