homestead
/ˈhoʊmˌstɛd/noun, verb
homestead is spelled H-O-M-E-S-T-E-A-D: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.1 times per million words in written English, the 15,146th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, homestead means “A house together with surrounding land and buildings, especially on a farm; the property comprising these” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of homestead is homesteads.
How many letters and syllables are in homestead?
| Letters | 9: H-O-M-E-S-T-E-A-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.1 times per million words; the 15,146th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is homestead?
Homestead appears 3.1 times per million words in written English, the 15,146th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce homestead?
- US /ˈhoʊmˌstɛd/
Homestead has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-homestead.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of homestead
- homesteads plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- homesteading participle, present
- homesteaded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does homestead mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A house together with surrounding land and buildings, especially on a farm; the property comprising these.
- 2
CanadaUSA parcel of land in the interior of North America, usually 160 acres, that was distributed to settlers from Europe or eastern North America under the Dominion Lands Act of 1870 in Canada or the Homestead Act of 1862 in the United States.
- 3
The place that is one's home.
- 4
A cluster of several houses occupied by an extended family.
- 5
obsoleteThe home or seat of a family; place of origin.
verb
- 1
To acquire or settle on land as a homestead.
- 2
To appropriate an unowned, scarce means, and thereby gain ownership of it.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate homestead?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of homestead: hstead.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Homestead in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Eigenheim, Gehöft, Siedlerhof, Heimstätte, Anwesen, Hofstelle |
| Spanish | masía, alquería |
| French | propriété, foyer, demeure |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does homestead come from?
From Middle English hamstede, hemstede (attested in placenames), from Old English hāmstede (“homestead”), from Proto-West Germanic *haimastadi (“homestead”). By surface analysis, home + stead. Cognate with Old Frisian hāmstede, hēmstede (“homestead”), Dutch heemstede (“homestead”), German Heimstatt, Heimstätte (“homestead”), Swedish hemstad (“homestead”), Old Icelandic heimstǫð (“homestead”). Doublet of Hampstead and Hempstead.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).