home economics
Americannoun
-
the art and science of home management.
-
a college curriculum usually including studies in nutrition, the purchase, preparation, and service of food, interior design, clothing and textiles, child development, family relationships, and household economics.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of home economics
An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900
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.
For much of the 1900s, family and consumer sciences, more broadly known as home economics, were a staple of educational curricula in most American communities.
From Salon • Jan. 30, 2026
She competed in—and won—pageants and was active in her Baptist church, before getting a degree in home economics from the University of Kentucky.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
His father was an art teacher, and his mother taught home economics, Ms. Kijner said.
From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2024
"But the main issue I have is that they have no facilities - no music, no home economics, they have to go to the local park for their PE sessions."
From BBC • Nov. 19, 2023
She walks right into the home economics room and unlocks the supply closet.
From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko
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.
