homework
Americannoun
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homework
plural
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schoolwork assigned to be done outside the classroom (distinguished from classwork ).
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a single assignment of such schoolwork: Homeworks are due at the beginning of class.
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thorough preparatory study of a subject.
to do one's homework for the next committee meeting.
noun
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school work done out of lessons, esp at home
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any preparatory study
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work done at home for pay
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of homework
Explanation
Any assignment you're expected to complete after school and bring back to class the next day is called homework. Many students make up excuses for not having their homework done. The "My dog ate my homework" excuse doesn't work so well in the digital age. High school students typically have a lot of homework most days, and often that's true for younger students as well. In college, an increasing amount of school work is done outside of class, as homework (even if you do it in the library, a cafe, or a dorm). Homework originally referred to any work done at home, including cooking and cleaning. The first example of the "school work" meaning dates from the late 1880s.
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.
AI chatbots have made large-scale cheating among students -- what some educators call "homework scams" -- easier than ever, allowing them to generate credible solutions to almost any written assignment within seconds.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
So that’s your homework for week two of Soup School: When your next pot tastes fine but somehow unfinished, don’t automatically add another shower of salt.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
Have your children put their phones in focus mode while they’re doing their homework so they don’t receive text and social-media notifications.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
He’d bring his homework to his job, and an older colleague, Ignacio, took interest in the books he was reading — mostly about Chicana/o studies and art.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
After I leave the tea shop, Mom and I do homework together.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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.
