homespun
Americanadjective
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having plain or unsophisticated character
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woven or spun at home
noun
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cloth made at home or made of yarn spun at home
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a cloth resembling this but made on a power loom
Etymology
Origin of homespun
Explanation
Something homespun has a simple, coarse feel, like your homespun plan to bring about world peace by giving everyone a daily spoonful of your aunt’s delicious strawberry jam. Homespun literally means spun at home. If you spin the wool from your sheep into yarn, and then make a dress out of it, it won’t be as fine or precise as fabric spun in a factory. Back in the day when large portions of the population couldn't afford milled cloth, homespun fabric marked you as poor, or just a farmer living off the land. Today we use homespun to describe anything that seems homemade, simple, or folksy, from homespun linens to homespun philosophies of life.
Vocabulary lists containing homespun
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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.
His latest project is “Twilight Override,” a sprawling if homespun triple album under his own name with no fewer than 30 songs about love, travel, music, family and childhood.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
Winnie the Pooh, the self-described bear of "very little brain" who has charmed generations with his homespun and heartfelt wisdom, is turning 100.
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
The company had also tried to revamp some of its stores, including decluttering and replacing much of the homespun decor with white exteriors and interiors.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
The result is 1982’s “Nebraska,” the acoustic, lo-fi, homespun record that established Springsteen as an artist for the ages.
From Salon • Oct. 24, 2025
He raises both brows, taking in the sight of me in the homespun dress.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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.
