planter

American  

[plan-ter, plahn-] / ˈplæn tər, ˈplɑn- /

noun

1. a person who plants.

2. an implement or machine for planting seeds in the ground.

3. the owner or manager of a plantation.

4. History/Historical. a colonist or new settler.

5. a decorative container, of a variety of sizes and shapes, for growing flowers or ornamental plants.

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planter British  

/ ˈplɑːntə /

noun

1. the owner or manager of a plantation

2. a machine designed for rapid, uniform, and efficient planting of seeds in the ground

3. a colonizer or settler

4. a decorative pot or stand for house plants

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Etymology

Origin of planter

First recorded in 1350–1400, planter is from the Middle English word plaunter. See plant, -er ¹

Example Sentences

As a pure planter, the company is expected to benefit from any rise in crude palm oil prices, she says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 30, 2025

“I was trying to take a picture of the beautiful turquoise planter at the end of the pool, but the camera was on me, so I just snapped it,” she later told PEOPLE.

From Salon • Aug. 9, 2025

Its storefront, painted with polka dots and decorated with giant butterflies, sits like a cheery oasis in Gustine’s four-block downtown, a riot of green spilling from the planter boxes out front.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2025

Brought over by the British, the game is mentioned in the diaries of the politician and planter William Bird III in 1704.

From BBC • May 29, 2024

Though this was really an emergency proposal dictated by the military crisis, and was ultimately rejected by the planter class in South Carolina and Georgia, its very suggestion seemed prophetic.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• grower
• laborer
• peasant
• producer
• rancher