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• at-home
  at-home

  noun

  Also at home a reception of visitors at certain hours at one's home.
• at home
  at home

  In one's own residence, town, or country. For example, Mary was not at home when I called , or Tourists in a foreign country often behave more rudely than they do at home . This idiom was first recorded in a ninth-century treatise.

at-home

American  

[at-hohm] / ætˈhoʊm /

noun

1. Also at home a reception of visitors at certain hours at one's home.

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adjective

1. done or used in the home; intended for one's home.

   a new line of at-home computers; at-home assignments for free-lance workers.

at-home British  

noun

1. another name for open day

2. a social gathering in a person's home

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at home Idioms  

1. In one's own residence, town, or country. For example, Mary was not at home when I called , or Tourists in a foreign country often behave more rudely than they do at home . This idiom was first recorded in a ninth-century treatise.

2. Ready to receive a visitor, as in We are always at home to our neighbor's children . This usage gave rise to the noun at-home , meaning a reception to which guests are invited on a specific day at specific hours (also see open house ). [c. 1600]

3. Also, at home with . Comfortable and familiar, as in Mary always makes us feel at home , or I've never been at home with his style of management . [Early 1500s] Also see at ease , def. 1.

4. Also, at home with . Proficient, well-versed in, as in Young John is so much at home with numbers that he may well become a mathematician , or Chris is really at home in French . [Late 1700s]

5. In team sports, playing on one's own field or in one's own town. For example, The Red Sox always do better at home than they do at away games .

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Etymology

Origin of at-home

First recorded in 1740–45

Example Sentences

But when Lavinia clicked on an email with results of an at-home DNA test in September 2022, she was filled with a sense of dread.

From BBC • May 2, 2026

The at-home workout boom during the pandemic launched Lululemon’s stock higher through 2021, followed by a peak in 2023.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 25, 2026

Four of the eight co-authors are employees of a company called Million Marker Wellness, Inc., which sells at-home plastic exposure testing kits for $399 each “as seen on Netflix’s The Plastic Detox.”

From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026

Many chastised me for not ponying up for an at-home fast charger.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026

But on the eve of the stay- at-home the entire English-language press crumbled and urged people to go to work.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• banquet
• barbecue
• bash
• feast
• festivity
• gala
• luncheon
• reception
• shindig