homecoming
Americannoun
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a return to one's home; arrival at home.
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an annual event held by a college, university, or high school for visiting alumni.
noun
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the act of coming home
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an annual celebration held by a university, college, or school, for former students
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of homecoming
First recorded in 1325–75; 1930–35 homecoming for def. 2; Middle English homcomyng; replacing Middle English hamcume, Old English hāmcyme, from hām home + cyme “arrival”; see come, -ing 1
Explanation
When someone returns home in a celebratory way — from war, college, or a long trip, for example — they have a homecoming. If your brother works at sea as a fisherman for several months each year, your whole family might gather for his homecoming. Your homecoming after your first year at college might be a bit of a letdown, if you're expected to find a summer job immediately. A soldier's homecoming is almost always a relief for his or her family. In high school or college, homecoming is a reunion that often centers around an autumn football game and a dance or party. In the U.S., this type of homecoming has been around since the 1930s.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It was a lovely kind of homecoming, a debt paid, really,” Oldman tells me in a Zoom conversation from London.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026
“The Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour” is part revival meeting, part homecoming and also simply a fine evening of music.
From Salon • May 28, 2026
Outside of flickers like Carmelo Anthony’s homecoming and Linsanity, Madison Square Garden was funereal.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
He may have seemed ready for a homecoming in 1981, but MTT’s appointment as principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic did not prove to be the return of the prodigal son.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026
Only a letter bearing news of his return would gladden her, and she would celebrate his homecoming with all the ceremony of a holiday or saint’s festival.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
