homemade

American  

[hohm-meyd] / ˈhoʊmˈmeɪd /

adjective

1. made or prepared at home, locally, or by the maker's own efforts.

   The restaurant's pastry is homemade. Breakfast at the farmhouse always meant homemade preserves.

2. made in one's own country; domestic.

   I prefer a homemade car to one of those foreign models.

3. made, contrived, or assembled by oneself; not professionally made or done; amateurish.

   the plain look of homemade furniture.

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Etymology

Origin of homemade

First recorded in 1650–60; home + made

Explanation

Something that's homemade is created by a real person, usually in their own house, rather than being mass-produced. Your dad's homemade apple pie is the best you've ever tasted. Your famous homemade chocolate chip cookies are likely to be a bigger hit at the bake sale than a box of ginger snaps dumped on a plate. And the homemade sweater you got for your birthday might be a little itchy, but it's special because your aunt lovingly knitted it herself, using yarn in your favorite color. Homemade things aren't just made at home — they're also usually made with more care than goods produced in factories.

Example Sentences

Her family can still live on her husband’s income as a traffic engineer, and Bigalk earns some money selling homemade wreaths at farmers markets.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

As Debbie sat at the register inside, helping a steady flow of the shop’s final patrons, protesters gathered behind the building, clutching homemade posters and waiting for Jeremy to speak.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

So much aspirational frugal cooking quietly assumes you have endless time, energy and executive function to devote to homemade bread, all-day braises and deeply involved kitchen projects.

From Salon • May 19, 2026

Back at the stall, customers sample a homemade mango lassi, a traditional yoghurt-based drink.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

He’d hang a copper wire out the window facing the courthouse, connect the homemade antenna to his shortwave radio, and exchange coded messages with Moscow.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• handmade