homecoming

[ hohm-kuhm-ing ]

/ ˈhoʊmˌkʌm ɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR homecoming ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a return to one's home; arrival at home.

an annual event held by a college, university, or high school for visiting alumni.

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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

The Temple University concert represented something of a homecoming for Coltrane.
What if Jazz Giant John Coltrane Had Lived?|Ted Gioia|September 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His homecoming is breezily explained at the start of the episode.
The Return of New Girl’s Coach…and of Faith in the Still-Great Comedy|Kevin Fallon|November 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
For Lennon, who had not set foot in Britain for nine years, there must have been something of a homecoming feel to the experience.
How John Lennon Rediscovered His Music in Bermuda|The Telegraph|November 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The girl's 21-year-old elder sister told The Daily Beast: "We are going to have a big party tonight to celebrate her homecoming."
Blonde Child Reunited With Roma Family After Irish Police Blunder|Tom Sykes|October 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST

How did the Marines you interviewed describe the homecoming process?
A Troubled Iraq War Vet Returns Home in Roxana Robinson’s ‘Sparta’|Jane Ciabattari|June 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The well-known thought first flickered back into Charles's mind on the third day of his homecoming.
Angela's Business|Henry Sydnor Harrison
Grace would undoubtedly go to the old tavern to prepare for the homecoming.
Keziah Coffin|Joseph C. Lincoln
Dear me, no one ever saw such a homecoming in their life before as that of mine that day!
Young Tom Bowling|J.C. Hutcheson
All the sadness surrounding her homecoming could not keep out the sweet feeling of being back that stole through her senses.
Fidelity|Susan Glaspell
Believe me, Mother, this homecoming will take place just as I have described it.
The Eyes of Asia|Rudyard Kipling

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

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.