homecoming
Americannoun
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homecomings
plural
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a return to one's home; arrival at home.
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an annual event held by a college, university, or high school for visiting alumni.
noun
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the act of coming home
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an annual celebration held by a university, college, or school, for former students
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of homecoming
First recorded in 1325–75; 1930–35 homecoming for def. 2; Middle English homcomyng; replacing Middle English hamcume, Old English hāmcyme, from hām home + cyme “arrival”; see come, -ing 1
Explanation
When someone returns home in a celebratory way — from war, college, or a long trip, for example — they have a homecoming. If your brother works at sea as a fisherman for several months each year, your whole family might gather for his homecoming. Your homecoming after your first year at college might be a bit of a letdown, if you're expected to find a summer job immediately. A soldier's homecoming is almost always a relief for his or her family. In high school or college, homecoming is a reunion that often centers around an autumn football game and a dance or party. In the U.S., this type of homecoming has been around since the 1930s.
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:
You’ve been selling out arenas like the Forum, Madison Square Garden, the O2 Arena in London, and now you’re doing six shows at the Dolby Theatre, which must feel like an incredible homecoming for you.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
As the band emerged in their trademark high-fashion, glittering outfits, the crowd danced freely, setting the tone for an evening that felt less like a routine tour stop and more like a homecoming.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
It also means a sort of homecoming for LACO, which gave its first concert in 1969 in the then-new Mark Taper Forum, the last of the Music Center’s initial three venues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Endangered antelopes flown to Kenya from Czech Republic in 'historic homecoming'
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
I’d finally get to have the homecoming games and school dances, study groups and student clubs, and all the crazy spontaneous times with friends.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
All were embarking on the hardest of homecomings, beginning all over again - with almost nothing.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Twenty captives were crossing over Israel’s border to jubilant homecomings, but Bipin wasn’t among them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
Her homecomings once brought the comfort of movie nights and card games, but this year was different.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2023
This probably wasn’t how Geno Smith and Jamal Adams envisioned their New York homecomings.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 3, 2023
And so, like many of our homecomings, this one was bittersweet.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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.
