home

¹

[ hohm ]

noun

1. a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household.

   Synonyms: domicile, habitation, dwelling, abode

2. the place in which one's domestic affections are centered.

   Synonyms: fireside, hearth

3. an institution for people who lack stable housing, who are sick or infirm, etc.:

   a nursing home;

   a home for those with dementia.

   Synonyms: asylum

4. the dwelling place or retreat of an animal.
5. the place or region where something is native or most common.
6. any place of residence or refuge:

   a heavenly home.

7. a person's native place or own country.
8. a principal base of operations or activities:

   The new stadium will be the home of the local football team.

9. (in games) the destination or goal.
10. Baseball. home plate.
11. Lacrosse. one of three attack positions nearest the opposing goal.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or connected with one's home or country:

   home cooking;

   the rising home demand for gasoline.

2. principal or main:

   the corporation's home office.

3. reaching the mark aimed at:

   a home thrust.

4. Sports. played in a ball park, arena, or the like, that is or is assumed to be the center of operations of a team: Compare away ( def 11 ).

   The pitcher didn't lose a single home game all season.

adverb

1. to, toward, or at home:

   to go home.

2. deep; to the heart:

   The truth of the accusation struck home.

3. to the mark or point aimed at:

   He drove the point home.

4. Nautical.
   1. into the position desired; perfectly or to the greatest possible extent:

      We radioed instructions to the crew, and the huge sails were sheeted home.

   2. in the proper, stowed position:

      The anchor is home.

   3. toward its vessel:

      to bring the anchor home.

verb (used without object)

, homed, hom·ing.

1. to navigate toward a point by means of coordinates other than those given by altitudes (often followed by on ):

   This clever defensive technology prevented torpedoes from homing on the U-boat.

2. to go or return home:

   Bees have the ability to learn visual landmarks and use them when foraging and homing.

3. to have a home where specified; reside:

   God now homes in the hearts of His people.

verb (used with object)

, homed, hom·ing.

1. to provide with a home:

   After being microchipped and fully vaccinated, the puppy was homed with six weeks free insurance.

2. Computers.
   1. to provide (a computer) with a network connection:

      Each subscriber must be homed to a node in the network.

   2. to prepare (a 3D printer) for use by setting the horizontal and vertical limits for positioning the extruder before a printing task:

      Do not try to do anything with your printer until you home it.

3. to provide a display or storage space for; house: The library homes a wide variety of resources for the avid gardener.

   Adding lighting to the unit creates a stunning wall feature to home all your treasured possessions.

   The library homes a wide variety of resources for the avid gardener.

4. to direct, especially under control of an automatic aiming device, toward an airport, target, etc.:

   The guidance system homed the missile on a target that was radar-illuminated by the launch aircraft.

5. to bring or send home.

verb phrase

1. 1. (of guided missiles, aircraft, etc.) to proceed, especially under control of an automatic aiming mechanism, toward a specified target, as a plane, missile, or location:

      The bomb homed in on the bridge.

   2. to direct one’s attention or energies toward:

      The committee quickly homed in on the relevant details.

Home

²

[ hyoom ]

noun

1. Lord. Douglas-Home.

Home

¹

/ hjuːm /

noun

1. See Home of the Hirsel
   Baron
   Baron HomeBaron See Home of the Hirsel

home

²

/ həʊm /

noun

1. the place or a place where one lives

   have you no home to go to?

2. a house or other dwelling
3. a family or other group living in a house or other place
4. a person's country, city, etc, esp viewed as a birthplace, a residence during one's early years, or a place dear to one
5. the environment or habitat of a person or animal
6. the place where something is invented, founded, or developed

   the US is the home of baseball

7. 1. a building or organization set up to care for orphans, the aged, etc
   2. an informal name for a mental home
8. sport one's own ground

   the match is at home

9. 1. the objective towards which a player strives in certain sports
   2. an area where a player is safe from attack
10. lacrosse
    1. one of two positions of play nearest the opponents' goal
    2. a player assigned to such a position

       inside home

11. See home plate
    baseball another name for home plate
12. informal.
    Britain, esp England
13. a home from home
    a home from home a place other than one's own home where one can be at ease
14. at home
    at home
    1. in one's own home or country
    2. at ease, as if at one's own home
    3. giving an informal party at one's own home
    4. such a party
15. at home in
    at home inat home onat home with familiar or conversant with
16. home and dry informal.
    home and dry definitely safe or successful Austral. and NZ equivalenthome and hosed

    we will not be home and dry until the votes have been counted

17. near home
    near home concerning one deeply

adjective

1. of, relating to, or involving one's home, country, etc; domestic
2. (of an activity) done in one's house

   home taping

3. effective or deadly

   a home thrust

4. sport relating to one's own ground

   a home game

5. central; principal

   the company's home office

adverb

1. to or at home

   I'll be home tomorrow

2. to or on the point
3. to the fullest extent

   hammer the nail home

4. (of nautical gear) into or in the best or proper position

   the boom is home

5. bring home to
   bring home to
   1. to make clear to
   2. to place the blame on
6. come home
   come home nautical (of an anchor) to fail to hold
7. come home to
   come home to to become absolutely clear to
8. nothing to write home about informal.
   nothing to write home about to be of no particular interest

   the film was nothing to write home about

verb

1. intr (of birds and other animals) to return home accurately from a distance
2. often foll byon or onto to direct or be directed onto a point or target, esp by automatic navigational aids
3. to send or go home
4. to furnish with or have a home
5. intr; often foll by in or in on to be directed towards a goal, target, etc

Usage Note

See hone in ( def ).

Derived Forms

• ˈhomeˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• min·i·home noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of home¹

First recorded before 900; noun and adverb; Middle English hom, Old English hām; cognate with Dutch heim, Old Norse heimr, Danish hjem, Swedish hem, German Heim “home,” Gothic haims “village”; akin to haunt

Word History and Origins

Origin of home¹

Old English hām; related to Old Norse heimr, Gothic haims, Old High German heim, Dutch heem, Greek kōmi village

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at home,
   1. in one's own house or place of residence.
   2. in one's own town or country.
   3. prepared or willing to receive social visits: We are always at home to her.

      Tell him I'm not at home.

      We are always at home to her.

   4. in a situation familiar to one; at ease:

      She has a way of making everyone feel at home.

   5. well-informed; proficient:

      to be at home in the classics.

   6. played in one's hometown or on one's own grounds:

      The Yankees played two games at home and one away.

2. bring home to, to make evident to; clarify or emphasize for:

   The irrevocability of her decision was brought home to her.

3. home and dry, British Informal. having safely achieved one's goal.
4. home free,
   1. assured of finishing, accomplishing, succeeding, etc.:

      If we can finish more than half the work today, we'll be home free.

   2. certain to be successfully finished, accomplished, secured, etc.:

      With most of the voters supporting it, the new law is home free.

5. write home about, to comment especially on; remark on (usually used in the negative):

   The town was nothing to write home about.

   His cooking is really something to write home about.

More idioms and phrases containing home

• at home
• bring home
• bring home the bacon
• chickens come home to roost
• close to home
• Drive Home
• eat someone out of house and home
• make oneself at home
• nobody home
• nothing to write home about
• till the cows come home

Synonym Study

See house.

Example Sentences

She was greeted by dozens of onlookers on the street outside the home.

From Washington Post

Moreno on Wednesday night told the Washington Blade that he is at his home and safe.

From Washington Blade

We’re able to build the script in our own home by ourselves.

From Washington Blade

Streaming watch parties have outlasted states’ shelter-at-home orders.

From Digiday

Harris did best in vote-rich New Castle County, winning 37 percent of the vote there, and ran strongest near Newark, home to the University of Delaware.

From Washington Post

That officer fretting about his “stance,” we learn, is plagued by PTSD that cripples him both on the job and at home.

From The Daily Beast

So, Islamized teaching sends girls back home for marriage and housework, and remains exclusively for boys.

From The Daily Beast

Meanwhile, almost exactly 30 years after the trial, the judge left his home to board a steamboat and was never heard from again.

From The Daily Beast

The FBI raided his home in 2000 with an affidavit questioning his use of $200,000 from his white supremacist fundraising.

From The Daily Beast

Scalise spoke briefly, adding little of substance, saying that the people back home know him best.

From The Daily Beast

It was with a feeling of relief on both sides that the arrival of Mr. Haggard, of the Home Office, was announced.

From Project Gutenberg

In the entrance hall of the Savoy, where large and lonely porters were dozing, he learnt that she was at home.

From Project Gutenberg

I've never had time to write home about it, for I felt that it required a dissertation in itself to do it justice.

From Project Gutenberg

Now and then the boy who had bought Squinty, and who was taking him home, would look around at his pet in the slatted box.

From Project Gutenberg

"I suppose the man Alessandro has something he calls a home," said the Senora, regaining herself a little.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Home

What is a basic definition of home?

Home is a noun that refers to the place where a person or animal lives. Home can also mean a location where something is native or very common. Home is also used as an adverb to describe something that occurs to, toward, or at a home. Home has many other senses as a noun, adjective, and adverb.

The place where you live is your home. Animals also have homes. A nest is a bee’s home, for example.

Home is a synonym of the word house. However, home is often used to imply that a person is emotionally attached to the place they live and feels a sense of comfort there. While house can also refer to an empty building, home usually describes a building that is occupied.

• Real-life examples: Houses, apartments, and condominiums are buildings that are used for homes. Animals make their homes in water, trees, caves, grass, underground, and elsewhere.
• Used in a sentence: I invited my friends to a party at my home. 

Home can also refer to a place where something is common or originates from.

• Real-life examples: The United States is the home of baseball. Israel is home to many religious sites. Social media is the home of most of our favorite Internet memes.
• Used in a sentence: Japan is the home of my heart. 

As an adverb, home describes something that is happening at a home or happening to a home.

• Real-life examples: When school is over, children go home. When people are sick, they might decide to stay home and not go to work. Military spouses often wait for their partners to return home.
• Used in a sentence: She waited for her brother to come home before ordering pizza.

Where does home come from?

The first records of home come from before the 900s. It comes from the Old English word hām, both as a noun and adverb. The Old English word is related to words for home in other languages, such as the Dutch heim, the Old Norse heimr, and the German Heim.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to home?

• homelike (adjective)
• minihome (noun)

What are some synonyms for home?

• house
• residence
• dwelling
• abode

What are some words that share a root or word element with home? 

• homely
• homer
• homeowner
• homework
• homeward
• home free
• at home

What are some words that often get used in discussing home?

• live
• reside
• base
• office
• garden
• decor
• computer

How is home used in real life?

Home is a common word that is most often used to refer to places where people live.

Sometimes I don't feel old but then I remember I used to access the internet via physical discs that were mailed to my home.

— Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) November 30, 2020

Tokushima is home to many sites of rich history and natural beauty. Check out our picks for the top tourist destinations on today's #JapanVirtualTour!

— Japan Consulate Miami (@JapanCons_Miami) October 28, 2020

Power walked home and made it with 8 minutes to spare 😅

— Sheepy (@ZsSheepy) November 29, 2020

Try using home!

Which of the following is NOT a synonym for home?

A. apartment
B. mansion
C. office
D. cabin