homer

¹ American  

[hoh-mer] / ˈhoʊ mər /

noun

1. Baseball. home run.

2. Sports.

   1. a game official, media commentator, reporter, etc., who is biased in favor of the home team.

      I really respect that this ref is not a homer—he’s objective about his calls, even though he wants us to win.

   2. a fan with blind faith in or allegiance to their home team.

      Call me a homer, but I’d bet on our team against theirs any day, whatever the statistical evidence.

3. homing pigeon.

---

verb (used without object)

1. Baseball. to hit a home run.

   The catcher homered in the ninth with one on to win the game.

homer ² American  

[hoh-mer] / ˈhoʊ mər /

noun

1. a Hebrew unit of capacity equal to ten baths in liquid measure or ten ephahs in dry measure.

---

Homer ³ American  

[hoh-mer] / ˈhoʊ mər /

noun

1. 9th-century b.c., Greek epic poet: reputed author of the Iliad and Odyssey.

2. Winslow, 1836–1910, U.S. painter and illustrator.

3. a male given name.

---

homer ¹ British  

/ ˈhəʊmə /

noun

1. another word for homing pigeon

2. an informal word for home run

---

Homer ² British  

/ ˈhəʊmə /

noun

1. c. 800 _bc , Greek poet to whom are attributed the Iliad and the Odyssey. Almost nothing is known of him, but it is thought that he was born on the island of Chios and was blind

2. Winslow. 1836–1910, US painter, noted for his seascapes and scenes of working life

---

Homer Cultural  

1. An ancient Greek poet, author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. He has often been considered the greatest and most influential of all poets. According to tradition, Homer was blind.

---

Etymology

Origin of homer¹

First recorded in 1865–70; home + -er ¹

Origin of homer²

First recorded in 1525–35, homer is from the Hebrew word ḥōmer literally, heap

Explanation

In baseball, a homer is what a batter gets after hitting the ball and running all the way around the bases to home plate without being tagged out. If you hit one out of the park, you've hit a homer. Homer is short for home run. If there are players on all the bases when a batter gets a homer, it's called a grand slam and it gives the team four points. You can use this word as a verb too, meaning "hit a home run." There are also nearly twenty towns in the US called Homer, but these are named for the ancient Greek epic poet, Homer.

Example Sentences

Trailing for most of the game, the USA looked to have hauled themselves back into the contest when Bryce Harper blasted a game-tying two-run homer in the eighth inning.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

Team Italy has an Armani jacket to drape on anyone who hits a homer while downing his shot of coffee.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Each team had a 50-percent win probability entering the at-bat, but the homer bumped St. Louis’ chances to 61 percent.

From Slate • Nov. 11, 2025

The look that Ken Griffey Jr. gave the ball when he knew it was a homer.

From Salon • Nov. 3, 2025

On Carter’s first pitch after the dropped pop fly, he gave up a two-run homer.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

Related Words

• accomplishment
• coup
• feat
• gain
• grand slam
• success
• win