ranch
//ˈɹɑːnt͡ʃ//
Forms
- Plural
- ranches
- present (v1)
- ranch
- past (v2)
- ranched
- past participle (v3)
- ranched
- present participle
- ranching
- 3rd person singular
- ranches
Definitions
1.A large plot of land used for raising cattle, sheep or other livestock.
2.A small farm that cultivates vegetables or livestock, especially one in the Southwestern United States.
3.A house or property on a plot of ranch land.
4.A ranch-style house.
1.To operate a ranch; to engage in ranching.
- Formally the widow still ranches, but in fact she leaves all ranching to the foreman.
2.To work on a ranch.
- Bill had ranched only five years when his dad made him foreman.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3965
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
Recorded since 1808, farm sense since 1831.
From American Spanish rancho (“small farm, group of farm huts”), in Spanish originally “group of people who eat together." Cognate with English rank.