Definition

1. Noun:
   • A large agricultural estate, especially in tropical or subtropical regions, where cash crops are cultivated: A "plantation" is a large farm or estate, typically in a warm climate, dedicated to growing a single commercial crop like coffee, sugar, cotton, or rubber, often using extensive labor.
   • A group of planted trees or plants, especially a cultivated wood or grove: "Plantation" can also refer to a planted area of trees or shrubs, often for timber, conservation, or ornamental purposes.
   • A historical colony or settlement: In historical contexts, particularly regarding the colonization of North America and Ireland, "plantation" referred to a newly established colony or the act of settling people on confiscated land.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Large Estate):
  • The sugar plantation covered thousands of acres and employed hundreds of workers.
  • They visited a coffee plantation in Brazil to see how the beans are harvested.
• Noun (Planted Area):
  • The forestry commission established a pine plantation to supply timber.
  • Behind the house was a small plantation of oak trees.
• Noun (Historical Settlement):
  • The Ulster Plantation in the 17th century involved the settlement of English and Scottish Protestants in Ireland.

Advanced Usage

• "Plantation economy": An economic system historically based on large-scale agricultural production of export crops, reliant on a large, often enslaved, labor force.
  • The region's history is deeply tied to a plantation economy built on sugarcane.
• "Plantation house": The large, main residence on a plantation estate.
  • The old plantation house has been restored and turned into a museum.

Variants and Related Words

• Plant (verb): To place a seed, plant, or tree in the ground so it can grow.
• Planter (noun): A person who owns or manages a plantation; also, a container for planting flowers.
• Planting (noun): The activity of putting plants in the ground; an area where plants have been placed.

Synonyms

• Estate: A large area of land owned by one person or organization, often including a large house.
• Farm: An area of land used for growing crops and rearing animals. (Note: A "plantation" is a specific type of large, monoculture farm.)
• Grove: A small group of trees. (This is a closer synonym for the "cultivated wood" meaning.)
• Colony: A country or area under the political control of another country and settled by its citizens. (This is a closer synonym for the historical meaning.)

Related Phrases

• Plantation shutters: A style of interior window shutter with wide louvers, originally associated with architecture in the southern United States.
  • They installed white plantation shutters in the living room.

Related Idioms

Noun

1. garden consisting of a small cultivated wood without undergrowth
2. a newly established colony (especially in the colonization of North America)
   • the practice of sending convicted criminals to serve on the Plantations was common in the 17th century
3. an estate where cash crops are grown on a large scale (especially in tropical areas)