home economics

American  

noun

1. the art and science of home management.

2. 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.

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home economics British  

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• home economist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of home economics

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Example Sentences

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

Collins taught home economics in high school and math in junior high before she transitioned into politics, elected clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 1975 and then lieutenant governor in 1979.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

On Saturday morning the party launched a number of policies including a promise to bring down waits for NHS treatment to no more than a year, and reinstating home economics to schools.

From BBC • May 16, 2025

“It doesn’t,” replied Ms. Martin, who is also a Republican and taught home economics for 18 years at the Pittsburg School down the road.

From New York Times • Jan. 22, 2024

When I got my course schedule, Mama explained it’s a new, fancy name for home economics.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan