homeland
Americannoun
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one's native land.
-
a region created or considered as a state by or for a people of a particular ethnic origin.
the Palestinian homeland.
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any of the thirteen racially and ethnically based regions created in South Africa by the South African government as nominally independent tribal ministates to which Black people were formerly assigned.
noun
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the country in which one lives or was born
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the official name for a Bantustan
Etymology
Origin of homeland
Explanation
A homeland is the country where a group originally comes from, or where a person was born. If your grandparents and great-grandparents are Greek, you might consider Greece your homeland. If you were born in Iran and raised in Canada, it might be important to you to think of Iran as your homeland, or the place you and your ancestors come from. In addition to being your birthplace, your homeland holds a lot of your cultural identity. Sometimes homeland is used in a nationalistic or even racist way, emphasizing that only certain ethnic groups are "native" to a certain country. The Old English root, hamland simply meant "enclosed pasture."
Vocabulary lists containing homeland
Human Geography - Middle School
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Human Geography - High School
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The Middle East and Central Asia - Introductory
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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.
He previously played in his homeland with Aberdeen and Dundee United in the Premiership and Ayr United and Queen's Park in the lower leagues.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
He said that the Greek government was implementing policies that meant "our homeland can produce and be able to equip the Navy with the most advanced drones and anti-drone systems that currently exist".
From BBC • May 9, 2026
Hepburn’s youth was destroyed by the World War II Nazi invasion of Holland, her ancestral homeland.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
The only “feelings you were allowed to have for your homeland were clichés, kitschy and prefabricated.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Villagers in the satellite settlements exchanged products with the center, sending beans uphill and obtaining llama jerky in return, all the while retaining their citizenship in a homeland they rarely saw.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
