What does "plantation" mean?
A large farm; estate or area of land designated for agricultural growth. Often includes housing for the owner and workers.
Plantation
/plænˈteɪʃən/ noun
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A large farm; estate or area of land designated for agricultural growth. Often includes housing for the owner and workers.
- Grammar: plantation is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: agricultural estate, anchorage, arable land, barnyard.
- Useful contrasts: backyard garden, natural forest, small farm.
- Usage evidence: That farmer cultivated a 200 acre plantation.
How to use "plantation"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "plantation" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "plantation" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "plantation" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "plantation" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "plantation" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "agricultural estate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "plantation", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A large farm; estate or area of land designated for agricultural growth. Often includes housing for the owner and workers. countable, uncountable
"Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia. The cheapest way to clear logged woodland is to burn it, producing an acrid cloud of foul white smoke that, carried by the wind, can cover hundreds, or even thousands, of square miles."
- 2 garden consisting of a small cultivated wood without undergrowth wordnet
- 3 An area where trees are planted, either for commercial purposes, or to adorn an estate. countable, uncountable
"She used to bound through the plantations, her eye first caught by one object, then another, gazing round for something to admire and to love. Now she walked slowly, her eyes fixed on the ground, as if, in all the wide fair world, there was nothing to attract nor to interest."
- 4 a newly established colony (especially in the colonization of North America) wordnet
- 5 The importation of large numbers of workers and soldiers to displace the local population, such as in medieval Ireland and in the Americas; colonization. countable, historical, uncountable
"Had I plantation of this Iſle my Lord."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 an estate where cash crops are grown on a large scale (especially in tropical areas) wordnet
- 7 A colony established thus. countable, historical, uncountable
"Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (former official name of Rhode Island, United States)"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
backyard gardennatural forestsmall farmsmallholding farm
Example
"That farmer cultivated a 200 acre plantation."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "plantation"?
Common synonyms include: agricultural estate, anchorage, arable land, barnyard, barton, cattle ranch.
How do you use "plantation" in a sentence?
That farmer cultivated a 200 acre plantation.
How do you pronounce "plantation"?
Pronounced /plænˈteɪʃən/.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French plantation, from Latin plantātiō (“planting, transplanting”), from plantātus (“planted”), the perfect passive participle of plantāre, + action noun suffix -tiō.