ranch farm

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A large farm where cattle, horses, or sheep are raised on open land, especially in North America or Australia.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say a ranch farm or several ranch farms.

   Patterns

   • a ranch farm in somewhere
   • work on a ranch farm
   • run a ranch farm

   They bought a ranch farm in Montana and keep about two hundred cattle.

   My uncle worked on a ranch farm in Queensland for three years.

   The road passes several ranch farms before it reaches the mountains.

2. 2nouncountable

   A farm that combines crops with large-scale livestock raising in a ranch-style operation.

   Grammar: Countable; often used when a farm has both fields and open grazing land.

   Patterns

   • a mixed ranch farm
   • a family ranch farm

   Their ranch farm grows wheat in the valley and grazes sheep on the hills.

   A family ranch farm can be passed down through several generations.

Word forms

Common combinations

work on a ranch farm

He worked on a ranch farm during the summer holidays.

run a ranch farm

It is hard to run a ranch farm without extra help.

a large ranch farm

A large ranch farm may cover thousands of acres.

a family ranch farm

The family ranch farm has been in their name since 1920.

Synonyms and how they differ

ranch

Ranch is the normal American word for a cattle property and is shorter; ranch farm is more descriptive and less common.

station

Station is the usual Australian and New Zealand word for a large sheep or cattle property.

farm

Farm is the general word for any agricultural property and does not necessarily suggest open grazing land.

Word family

rancher noun

A person who owns or manages a ranch.

ranching noun

The activity or business of raising animals on a ranch.

farmer noun

A person who owns or manages a farm.

Commonly confused: ranch farm or farm?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “ranch farm”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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