ranch / ranch/ • n. a large farm, esp. in the western U.S. and Canada, where cattle or other animals are bred and raised. ∎  (also ranch house) a single-story, sometimes split-level, house, typically with a low-pitched roof. ∎ short for ranch dressing.• v. [intr.] [often as n.] (ranching) run a ranch: cattle ranching. ∎  [tr.] [often as adj.] (ranched) breed (animals) on a ranch. ∎  [tr.] use (land) as a ranch.ORIGIN: early 19th cent.: from Spanish rancho ‘group of persons eating together.’

ranch hut or house in the country; cattle-breeding establishment. XIX. — Sp. rancho mess on board ship, soldiers' quarters, (in S. America) hut for herdsmen, etc.