homesteader

noun

home·​stead·​er ˈhōm-ˌste-dər How to pronounce homesteader (audio)
plural homesteaders
: someone who homesteads:
a
: someone who acquires, settles on, or occupies land under a homestead law (see homestead law sense 2)
As more homesteaders arrived, they took more and more Native American land.Ann Byers
Her grandmother came to Kansas in a covered wagon as a homesteader in 1883 …Mark Binelli
b
: someone who lives frugally or self-sufficiently (as on a homestead) especially by growing and preserving food
There are modern-day homesteaders who have traded contemporary conveniences such as … a reliable internet connection to grow much of their own food and—as much as possible—live off the land …Chris Moody
We are city homesteaders. We have a 100-foot lot and make the most of it.Faye Waloch
As a homesteader, you might even fish as a means to put more food on the table.Kacey Mya
Many homesteaders make their own soaps, skin care items, and herbal remedies or sew or knit their own clothing, and in other ways reduce the need for shopping and consumerism.Kristin Lie-Nielsen

Examples of homesteader in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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His first thought was that this would be a large enough area for hikers to wander around for extended periods, experiencing the classic Ozark Mountain wildness that the original homesteaders of the 1820s had known. arkansasonline.com, 6 July 2025 Three American families reimagine their lives as 1880s homesteaders, foregoing the comforts of present day for a more analog life on the frontier. Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 5 July 2025 Get a taste of life as a homesteader in Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America. Michael Snyder, Travel + Leisure, 14 June 2025 Lindsey Chastain is a homesteader and writer at Waddle and Cluck. Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 10 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for homesteader

Word History

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of homesteader was in 1865

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Cite this Entry

“Homesteader.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homesteader. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.

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