home·stead /'hōm-ˌsted, -stid/ n
1 a: the home and adjoining land with any buildings that is occupied usu. by a family as its principal residence
b: an estate created by law in a homestead esp. for the purpose of taking advantage of a homestead exemption
2: a tract of land acquired from U.S. public lands by filing a record and living on and cultivating the tract
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.