homesteader

noun

home·​stead·​er ˈhōm-ˌste-dər 

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

Highlights include dogsledding, curling lessons with locals, dining with homesteaders, soaking in geothermal hot springs, snowshoeing on private land, and tea with reindeer herders. —Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024

More than a few are on the fringes of society: homesteaders, back-to-the-land types, those who live off the grid and make a living teaching survival and primitive skills to others. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 13 June 2024

Ree Drummond, Food Network star and famous homesteader, just dropped her biggest furniture collection to date at Walmart. —Elsie Boskamp, USA TODAY, 16 Oct. 2024

According To Our Readers History Of Anna Maria Island Inheriting the land from his father (Anna Maria Island's first homesteader) in 1892, Will Bean worked with fellow promoter and developer Charles Roser to make the island an escape ready to appeal to investors. —Tracey Minkin, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

homestead entry 2 + -er entry 2

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined above