definitions
  • synonyms

homecoming

[ hohm-kuhm-ing ]
/ ˈhoʊmˌkʌm ɪŋ /
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noun

a return to one's home; arrival at home.
an annual event held by a college, university, or high school for visiting alumni.

RELATED WORDS

return, appearance, advent, landing, meeting, influx, arrival, entry, rebound, restoration, recovery, reconciliation, ingress, occurrence, entrance, accession, approach, happening, debarkation, disembarkation

Nearby words

homeboy, homebred, homebuilder, homebuilding, homebuyer, homecoming, homegirl, homegrown, homeland, homeland security, homelands movement

Origin of homecoming

1325–75; 1930–35 for def 2; Middle English homcomyng; replacing Middle English hamcume, Old English hāmcyme, equivalent to hām home + cyme arrival; see come, -ing1
Related formshome·com·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for homecoming

British Dictionary definitions for homecoming

homecoming

/ (ˈhəʊmˌkʌmɪŋ) /

noun

the act of coming home
US an annual celebration held by a university, college, or school, for former students
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

Word Origin and History for homecoming

homecoming

n.

mid-13c. in literal sense of "a coming home," from home (n.) + present participle of come. Cf. Old English hamcyme "return." Attested from 1935 in U.S. high school dance sense. Used earlier in Britain in reference to the annual return of natives to the Isle of Man.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper