home rule
noun
self-government in local matters by a city, province, state, colony, or the like.
home rule
Americannoun
home rule
1
British
noun
-
self-government, esp in domestic affairs
-
government the partial autonomy of cities and (in some states) counties, under which they manage their own affairs, with their own charters, etc, within the limits set by the state constitution and laws
-
the partial autonomy sometimes granted to a national minority or a colony
Home Rule
2
British
noun
Etymology
Origin of home rule
First recorded in 1855–60
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:
A Danish colony until 1953, Greenland gained home rule 26 years later and is contemplating eventually loosening its ties with Denmark.
From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026
Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, and then became a county of Denmark, before gaining home rule in 1979.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2025
Bonar Law was both a true believer in the Ulster cause and a shrewd political operator, who correctly perceived that home rule could be used to bring down Asquith and the Liberals.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2024
Serrott agreed, finding that the law was only designed to prevent cities from exercising home rule.
From Seattle Times ● May 20, 2024
Besides this, the Douglas idea of "popular sovereignty," or, as we now call it, home rule, in the Territories, had won many adherents.
From The Middle Period 1817-1858 by John William Burgess
The aspiring writer was not as active in the Home Rule campaign, which sought to restore self-government to Ireland, as some of his friends from student years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
He also assumed control of the Metropolitan Police Department, which he is allowed to do for 30 days without congressional approval under the Home Rule Act of 1973.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2025
Even if they weren’t, though, the Home Rule Act would not authorize them.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2025
Mayor Karen Bass, is invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act that places the Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2025
That reality since Sir Henry Fowler’s amendment in 1894 practically implies Home Rule for every parish in rural England.
From Social Transformations of the Victorian Age A Survey of Court and Country by T. H. S. (Thomas Hay Sweet) Escott
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.
