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the homestead + in/at/on + [place]
homestead 作名词时指住宅及其周围土地，常用介词短语作后置定语说明位置。
The homestead on the hill has been in the family for generations.
山丘上的那座农庄一直由这个家族代代相传。
家园；宅院；农庄
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
家园；宅院；农庄
a family home together with its land, especially a farmhouse and its grounds
The homestead on the hill has been in the family for generations.
山丘上的那座农庄一直由这个家族代代相传。
房屋及周围土地和建筑,尤其是农场上的；包括这些的财产。
A house together with surrounding land and buildings, especially on a farm; the property comprising these.
家；住所；家园。
The place that is one's home.
After a long trip, we finally returned to our quiet homestead in the countryside.
长途旅行后，我们终于回到了乡下宁静的家园。
The old homestead has been in their family for over a hundred years.
这座老宅院在他们家已经传承了一百多年。
They decided to sell the homestead and move closer to the city.
他们决定卖掉农庄，搬到离城里更近的地方。
homestead 作名词时指住宅及其周围土地，常用介词短语作后置定语说明位置。
The homestead on the hill has been in the family for generations.
山丘上的那座农庄一直由这个家族代代相传。
作名词时也可特指按美国《宅地法》申请、耕种后获得的公有土地。
Their homestead was sold after the old farmer died.
老农场主去世后，他们的宅院被卖掉了。
homestead 作动词时是及物的，后接土地等宾语，意为“定居并开垦（公有土地）以取得所有权”。
The family homesteaded a tract of land in Nebraska.
这家人通过定居和耕种取得了内布拉斯加的一块土地。
也可不带直接宾语，用介词 on 引出地点，这时为不及物用法。
Many settlers homesteaded on the Great Plains after the Civil War.
美国内战后，许多定居者在大平原上开垦定居并取得了土地。
Not this
My grandfather bought homestead.
Use this
My grandfather bought a homestead.
homestead 是可数名词，单独使用时需要一个限定词（如 a, the, my）。中文没有冠词，所以学习者容易漏掉 a，但英语中单数可数名词不能裸用。
Not this
They live in a homestead.
Use this
They live on a homestead.
homestead 指宅基地、农庄及附属土地，属于一片土地，所以介词用 on（如 on a farm），不是 in。受中文‘在…里’的影响，学习者容易误用 in。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
宅地豁免（对主要住宅的税收或债务豁免）
Many states offer a homestead exemption to reduce property taxes for homeowners.
许多州为房主提供宅地豁免，以降低房产税。
宅地申请（依据《宅地法》对公有土地提出的权益申请）
She filed a homestead claim on two hundred acres of prairie.
她对两百英亩的草原提出了宅地申请。
《宅地法》（美国1862年颁布的公有土地授予法）
The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged westward expansion.
1862年的《宅地法》推动了西进运动。
宅地（依法获得或作为家园使用的土地）
The family farmed the homestead land for generations.
这家人世代耕种这块宅地。
定居并开垦（政府授予的）土地
Pioneers homesteaded the land in the 1880s.
拓荒者在19世纪80年代定居并开垦了这片土地。
老家，故园
After her parents passed away, she still visited the old homestead every spring.
父母去世后，她每年春天仍会回老家看看。
Use homestead naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
homestead = home（家）+ stead（处所），把 stead 记成‘地方’，合起来就是‘家园、宅地’。
语域：mixed 常见场景：family home and surrounding land、real estate / property、US homestead law (historical) 该词作名词时在日常交谈和书面语中都自然，多用于指住宅及附属土地；作动词时通常出现在美国历史与法律语境，指依据《宅地法》定居并耕种。正式或法律文本中更常见，日常口语用得较少。
Genuine rhymes with 'homestead' (ending /sted/): instead, stead, steady, steadfast, bedstead. Note that 'steadfast' is stressed on the first syllable but still contains /sted/. Beware the lookalike 'steed' (spelled with -ee-), pronounced /stiːd/, which does not rhyme.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, OCTANOVE, WIKTIONARY.