croft

¹ American  

[krawft, kroft] / krɔft, krɒft /

noun

British.

1. a small farm, especially one worked by a tenant.

2. a small plot of ground adjacent to a house and used as a kitchen garden, to pasture one or two cows, etc.; a garden large enough to feed a family or have commercial value.

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croft ² American  

[krawft, kroft] / krɔft, krɒft /

noun

1. a small, portable filing cabinet of table height, having drop leaves for use as a table.

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croft British  

/ krɒft /

noun

1. a small enclosed plot of land, adjoining a house, worked by the occupier and his family, esp in Scotland

2. dialect a patch of wasteland, formerly one used for bleaching fabric in the sun

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Etymology

Origin of croft¹

before 1000; Middle English, Old English: small field

Origin of croft²

Named after the Reverend Sir Herbert Croft (1757–1816), lexicologist, its inventor

Example Sentences

Instead of working on their long-overdue extension, Billy built a miniature croft house for the otter, equipped with a camera, wi-fi and a set of Mail family photos.

From BBC • Nov. 4, 2024

For an intimate winter nook, consider a croft room, where you can sleep in a cabin bed enclosed with panels and curtains.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2023

The winner was Alasdair Firth, who lives locally on a woodland croft.

From BBC • Jul. 25, 2022

I sat in Maggie Fyffe’s croft, where water-and-wind-powered fairy lights twinkled over the mantelpiece and the air smelt of roll-ups and woodsmoke.

From The Guardian • Sep. 26, 2017

They kept a steady plodding pace, past a shepherd's croft and the abandoned workings of a mine.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin