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.
another name for open day
a social gathering in a person's 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.
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]
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.
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]
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 .
First recorded in 1740–45
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An increased reliance on “premium formats” may seem like an obvious weapon in the increasingly one-sided war between at-home and theatrical viewing, but it is not the answer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Americans have largely heard about the famous French creche system of public daycares, but the French government also subsidizes the kind of one-on-one at-home care that many parents of infants prefer.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026
Renzi Stone, who runs a boutique marketing strategy firm in Oklahoma City, recently started spending around $800 a month on Alpha’s at-home software platform for his son, who just finished eighth grade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
The median cost of at-home, nonmedical paid care now tops $80,000 per year, assuming a pay rate of $35 an hour for 44 hours a week, according to CareScout’s latest Cost of Care Survey.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026
My dad, feeling sorry for me at the time, gives me the at-home nickname of “Skippy,” in honor of my peanut butter of choice.
From "The Misfits" by James Howe
Posan, 25, has been living in Kumamoto for two years, and was at home at the time of the quake.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Facing mounting criticism at home ahead of upcoming elections, Netanyahu had sought for months to get a meeting with Trump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
With Japan’s 30-year bond now yielding near 4%, an insurer in Tokyo can finally earn a decent return at home, in its own currency, with no exchange-rate risk.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Last year’s debut of DeepSeek, an AI startup, was treated at home as a vindication of that narrative.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Next to the girl, he assembled the kindling just the way he’d done a thousand times at home.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
