Synonyms

home economics

American

noun

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.

home economics British

noun

(functioning as singular or plural) the study of diet, budgeting, child care, textiles, and other subjects concerned with running a home

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

home economist

noun

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.

See Examples For:

home economics

Pupils currently have to learn home economics on rotation, something which has happened with other subjects in the past.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

At the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, she studied home economics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

According to the Craft Industry Alliance, by 2012 only 3.5 million students were enrolled in home economics classes nationwide, a decrease of 38% over the prior decade.

From Salon ● Feb. 4, 2024

His father was an art teacher, and his mother taught home economics, Ms. Kijner said.

From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2024

Also—he never looked up to acknowledge the grunts of acceptance—also, we were bound to get some new equipment for the home economics building and the workshop.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023