estate

estate — noun

1. a large piece of countryside land with a big house that belongs to a single fami

1.nounB1
Definition

a large piece of countryside land with a big house that belongs to a single family or organization and is typically used for farming or keeping animals

Example

The Kwame family has owned this country estate for more than two hundred years.

collocation: country estate / own an estate

Tourists can visit the estate every Sunday and walk through the gardens for free.

Common collocations
  • country estate
  • family estate
  • estate grounds
  • own an estate
  • estate owner
  • estate agent
Synonyms
  • property

    a more general term for land and buildings of any size

  • manor

    a large house with land, especially one with a historical connection to a local area

  • plantation

    a large farm in a tropical or subtropical region, growing cash crops

Usage Note

In British English, this sense usually means a large house with surrounding farmland (a country estate). In American English, ranch or plantation are more common for working farms.

Common Mistakes

They bought an estate in the city centre.
They bought an estate in the countryside.
Estates in this sense are rural, not urban.
My family owns a small estate apartment in Taipei.
My family owns an apartment in Taipei.
An estate is a large area of land with a house, not a single flat.

2. all the money, property, belongings, and debts that a person leaves behind when

2.nounB1
Definition

all the money, property, belongings, and debts that a person leaves behind when they die

Example

After her father passed away, Gita discovered his estate was worth nearly three million dollars.

The family lawyer read the will to everyone who had a claim on the estate.

collocation: estate + will / claim on the estate

Common collocations
  • estate tax
  • estate planning
  • estate lawyer
  • settle an estate
  • inherit an estate
  • value of the estate
Synonyms
  • inheritance

    focuses on what someone receives (the heir's perspective), not what someone leaves (the deceased's perspective)

  • assets

    broader term for anything of value owned, not limited to death context

Usage Note

An estate includes not just physical property but also money, investments, and unpaid debts. The legal process of distributing an estate is called probate.

Common Mistakes

I need to manage my estate while I am still alive.' (when meaning personal finances)
I need to do estate planning while I am still alive.
'Estate' in this sense specifically refers to what you leave after death, not your current wealth.

3. a collection of homes, factories, or other structures constructed together as pa

3.nounB1
Definition

a collection of homes, factories, or other structures constructed together as part of a single planned development

Example

The city council built a new housing estate on the north side of town for low-income families.

collocation: housing estate

Liang and his family moved into a modern estate with its own shops, a park, and a primary school.

Common collocations
  • housing estate
  • industrial estate
  • trading estate
  • council estate
  • on an estate
  • live on an estate
Synonyms
  • development

    the American English equivalent for a planned residential area

  • complex

    a group of buildings used for a specific purpose, such as apartments or offices

Usage Note

This sense is common in British English. In American English, the equivalent terms are housing project (for public housing) or development.

Common Mistakes

The estate has a beautiful old castle.
The estate has modern three-bedroom houses.
This sense refers to planned housing developments, not historic country estates.

4. a type of car whose back section provides extra room for luggage or large items,

4.nounB2
Definition

a type of car whose back section provides extra room for luggage or large items, accessed through a separate door at the rear

Example

Rania chose an estate because she needed room for her two dogs and all the camping gear.

British: estate car

The carpenter loaded sheets of wood into the back of his estate without folding the seats.

Common collocations
  • estate car
  • drive an estate
  • buy an estate
  • the back of an estate
Synonyms
  • station wagon

    the American English name for the same type of car

  • shooting brake

    a historical term now used mainly for luxury estate-style cars

Usage Note

This term is used mainly in British English. In American English, the same type of vehicle is called a station wagon.

Common Mistakes

I hired an estate for my holiday in America.' (not easily understood in the US)
I hired a station wagon for my holiday in America.
Use the local term.

5. a particular condition or stage in someone's life or in the development of somet

5.nounC1
Definition

a particular condition or stage in someone's life or in the development of something

Example

Gabriela worried about the estate of her grandmother's mind after the old lady began forgetting familiar faces.

formal: estate of [someone's] + abstract noun (mind, health, mood)

Femi called the hospital daily, anxious about the estate of his brother's recovery after surgery.

formal: estate of [someone's] recovery

Common collocations
  • the human estate
  • estate of marriage
  • estate of life
Synonyms
  • condition

    the common modern equivalent, without literary connotations

  • state

    a neutral and widely used synonym for condition or situation

Usage Note

This sense is largely literary or formal. It survives mainly in fixed phrases such as the human estate and the estate of holy matrimony. It should not be used in everyday conversation.

Common Mistakes

I am in a happy estate today.
I am in a happy mood today.
This sense is too formal and old-fashioned for casual use.

6. one of the traditional divisions of society based on rank, power, or occupation,

6.nounC1
Definition

one of the traditional divisions of society based on rank, power, or occupation, especially in historical Europe

Example

In medieval times, the three estates were the clergy, the nobility, and the common people.

historical: the three estates

The press is sometimes called the fourth estate because of its power to influence politics.

fixed phrase: the fourth estate

Common collocations
  • the three estates
  • the fourth estate
  • estates of the realm
  • an estate of the kingdom
Synonyms
  • class

    the standard modern term for social rank divisions

  • rank

    focuses on position within a hierarchy, especially in military or official contexts

Usage Note

This sense appears almost exclusively in historical discussions or in the fixed phrase the fourth estate. In modern sociology, class or social class are the standard terms.

Common Mistakes

She belongs to a higher estate than me.
She belongs to a higher social class than me.
'Estate' for social class is archaic; use 'class' in modern English.

estate — adjective

Word family

  • real estate
    nounB1
  • estate agent
    nounB1
  • estate car
    nounB2
  • estate planning
    nounC1
  • estate tax
    nounC1
  • estate sale
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Property is the broadest term — it covers any building or piece of land that someone owns, from a small flat to a large farm, and is the safest everyday word. Land refers specifically to the ground itself, without any buildings, and is useful when you want to distinguish the soil and terrain from what sits on it. An estate is a large area of countryside land that includes a big house, often with farmland or woodland attached, and is usually owned by a single family or organisation. Manor has a narrower, more historical meaning: it is a large house — often several centuries old — with the land that originally belonged to it under the feudal system. Plantation refers to a very large farm in a tropical or subtropical region that grows a single cash crop such as cotton, tea, or sugar. For everyday use: 'The company owns commercial property across the city' (general); 'The Price family estate covers 500 acres of farmland and forest' (large, with a house); 'The medieval manor has been a tourist attraction since 1950' (historical context).

property ↗land ↗manor ↗plantation ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • real estate
  • estate agent
  • estate planning
  • estate tax

Phrases

  • estate of the realm
  • estate of marriage
  • the human estate

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word estate entered English in the 13th century from Anglo-Norman estat and Old French estat, meaning 'state, condition, position, or status.' These French words come from Latin status, meaning 'a standing, position, or condition' (the same root gives us the English word state). The meaning of 'landed property with a house' developed in the 14th century, when a person's 'estate' referred to their overall standing in society, which was closely tied to how much land they owned. By the 16th century, the word had also come to mean 'the assets left by a person at death,' as an extension of the idea of a person's total worldly position. The use of estate for a planned group of houses dates from the early 20th century, and the adjective use ('estate wine,' 'estate jewellery') emerged in the 20th-century second-hand goods market.