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  • homer
    homer
    noun
  • Homer
    Homer
    noun
    9th-century b.c., Greek epic poet: reputed author of the Iliad and Odyssey.
Synonyms

homer

1 American  
[hoh-mer] / ˈhoʊ mər /

noun

  1. Baseball. home run.

  2. Sports.

    1. a game official, media commentator, reporter, etc., who is biased in favor of the home team.

      I really respect that this ref is not a homer—he’s objective about his calls, even though he wants us to win.

    2. a fan with blind faith in or allegiance to their home team.

      Call me a homer, but I’d bet on our team against theirs any day, whatever the statistical evidence.

  3. homing pigeon.


verb (used without object)

  1. Baseball. to hit a home run.

    The catcher homered in the ninth with one on to win the game.

homer 2 American  
[hoh-mer] / ˈhoʊ mər /

noun

  1. a Hebrew unit of capacity equal to ten baths in liquid measure or ten ephahs in dry measure.


Homer 3 American  
[hoh-mer] / ˈhoʊ mər /

noun

  1. 9th-century b.c., Greek epic poet: reputed author of the Iliad and Odyssey.

  2. Winslow, 1836–1910, U.S. painter and illustrator.

  3. a male given name.


Homer 1 British  
/ ˈhəʊmə /

noun

  1. c. 800 bc , Greek poet to whom are attributed the Iliad and the Odyssey. Almost nothing is known of him, but it is thought that he was born on the island of Chios and was blind

  2. Winslow. 1836–1910, US painter, noted for his seascapes and scenes of working life

"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

homer 2 British  
/ ˈhəʊmə /

noun

  1. another word for homing pigeon

  2. an informal word for home run

"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

Homer Cultural  
  1. An ancient Greek poet, author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. He has often been considered the greatest and most influential of all poets. According to tradition, Homer was blind.


Etymology

Origin of homer1

First recorded in 1865–70; home + -er 1

Origin of homer2

First recorded in 1525–35, homer is from the Hebrew word ḥōmer literally, heap


Explanation

In baseball, a homer is what a batter gets after hitting the ball and running all the way around the bases to home plate without being tagged out. If you hit one out of the park, you've hit a homer. Homer is short for home run. If there are players on all the bases when a batter gets a homer, it's called a grand slam and it gives the team four points. You can use this word as a verb too, meaning "hit a home run." There are also nearly twenty towns in the US called Homer, but these are named for the ancient Greek epic poet, Homer.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing homer

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:

But the ninth batter he faced, Hamilton, hit a solo homer to cushion the Brewers’ lead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Roberts: “Hasn’t given up a homer all year, but it just — it’s baseball. For me, I felt good with where Blake’s stuff was at. You’ve got to give Bauers credit.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Instead, the umpire called it a homer, allowing the Yankees to even the score.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Skubal didn’t allow another baserunner until the sixth inning, when Sean Murphy launched a top-rail sinker for a solo homer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

How to smack a homer and walk a yo-yo and skate backward.

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord

Ben Homer, managing director of Littleton Auctions, described it as "one of the most exciting collections" the auction house had brought to market.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The rediscovery of Homer, alien obsessions, a novel of the Roman Republic’s fall and more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Gerber — who during the interview sat next to her co-star Homer Gere — shared that she was “haunted” her whole life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Kantenga laughed when I posed it to him, saying his usual gut reaction to the question is to slink away like the meme of Homer Simpson retreating into the bushes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

“His look told me all I needed to know. I told him, ‘Oh, Homer, I should have known!’”

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

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