domestic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the home, the household, household affairs, or the family.
domestic pleasures.
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devoted to home life or household affairs.
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no longer wild; domesticated; tame.
domestic animals.
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of or relating to one's own or a particular country as apart from other countries.
domestic trade.
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indigenous to or produced or made within one's own country; not foreign; native.
domestic goods.
noun
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domestics
plural
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a hired household servant.
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something produced or manufactured in one's own country.
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domestics, household items made of cloth, as sheets, towels, and tablecloths.
adjective
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of or involving the home or family
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enjoying or accustomed to home or family life
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(of an animal) bred or kept by man as a pet or for purposes such as the supply of food
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of, produced in, or involving one's own country or a specific country
domestic and foreign affairs
noun
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a household servant
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informal (esp in police use) an incident of violence in the home, esp between a man and a woman
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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antidomesticadjective
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nondomesticadjective
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predomesticadjective
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semidomesticadjective
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undomesticadjective
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antidomesticallyadverb
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domesticallyadverb
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nondomesticallyadverb
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predomesticallyadverb
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semidomesticallyadverb
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undomesticallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of domestic
First recorded in 1515–25; from Latin domesticus, derivative of domus “house” ( see dome); replacing domestique, from Middle French
Explanation
Domestic generally means relating to someone's family, home, or home country. Domestic work is work done in the home — a domestic is someone who works in a home, such as a nanny or a maid. Domestic is also used to refer to products that are produced in your country, or policies and affairs that relate to your country. And domestic animals, such as cats and dogs, are used to living with people. Domestic derives from Middle English, from Old French domestique, from Latin domesticus, from domus, "house."
Vocabulary lists containing domestic
List 1
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Preamble to the U.S. Constitution (1787)
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"On Women's Right to Vote" by Susan B. Anthony
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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.
See Examples For:
The police confirmed the murder was not being investigated as a domestic incident, and encouraged the public "to not speculate about the circumstances" as court proceedings were now active.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
The Bank of Japan has raised interest rates to the highest level since 1995, so it will be important to monitor how domestic demand conditions evolve in that environment, the economist said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
The economy is poised to show a growth rate of 3% or more from July to September when the government next week reports gross domestic product for the third quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
Some investors are looking beyond turmoil in France for companies that depend little on their domestic market.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
It was a mass of vines and blooms that twisted sinisterly in the flame but sat, docile and domestic, in the moonlight.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
In December 1927, it cautioned young women "to become a good cook before you marry, darling. Then you will be competent to rebuke a staff of domestics or to dispense with one".
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2025
TJ: My mother was the oldest of my grandmother’s nine children, so she was the one who went to work with my great-aunts when they were domestics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2023
Yet many domestics appear basically indistinguishable from wildcats.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2023
As a result, these consumers flocked to imports like Corona and Heineken, as well as domestics like Budweiser, and, yes, Bud Light.
From Slate ● Apr. 7, 2023
Elaine and the domestics sat in these galleries to watch, and the two knights fought beneath them for a long time.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
