homey
1 Americanadjective
noun
-
homeys,
plural
-
homies
plural
adjective
noun
Usage
What does homey mean? Homey is used to describe a place as cozy, comfortable, and inviting. It’s often used to describe a home that feels this way. You might discuss ways of making your place (or a particular room in it) more homey, typically by decorating it in a way that makes it cozier or more comfortable. Homey can also be used to describe a place that’s not a home but that’s comfortable and inviting like your own home, such as a hotel room, cozy restaurant, or nicely decorated office. Example: The new fireplace makes the living room feel so homey. Unrelatedly, homey is an alternative spelling of the noun homie, which is a slang term for a close friend. It can be used to refer to a friend, as in This is my homey Russel, or as a term of address for one, as in Hey, homey!Example: I’m having a night out with just me and my homeys.
Synonym Usage
See homely.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of homey1
First recorded in 1850–55; home + -y 1
Origin of homey2
First recorded in 1990–95
Vocabulary lists containing homey
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:
Shortly after the group officially formed in June 2024, Dangerfield’s then-girlfriend — now wife and band “momager” Lexi Dangerfield — opened Instagram and TikTok accounts filming and posting their homey videos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
In the homey second movement, he carefully lays down his cello, picks up a music box and sits at the foot of the podium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
Repeat visitors like Sonny Baker, 53, of Boston, praised Horning for keeping the resort homey and the crowds a fraction of those elsewhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
"Calgary, where I'm from, feels a little less like homey than LA," McRae said.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
“It’s a little plain, but we’ll make it homey, right?”
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
If the world ended tomorrow, what would you do today: Skate with the homeys.
From Time Magazine Archive
And I talk to the other homeys, too-when I see them.
From Time Magazine Archive
Can't dis the rockers 'cause they're my homeys.
From Time Magazine Archive
You go to parties and have acquaintances, but when it comes down to kicking it with the homeys, I only have a couple really close friends.
From Time Magazine Archive
What I got is right now, right here, spending time with my homeys.
From "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes
Took pictures of the homies with a school camera.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
“One of my homies said, ‘Hey fool, what are you doing here?’” he recalled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
UAW counsel Benjamin Dictor on Sunday morning posted on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter: "All my homies hate companies that won't agree to fair contracts for their workers."
From Reuters ● Oct. 29, 2023
It’s a place where I run into a bunch of my homies all the time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2023
“They’re not your homies if you gotta hide from them,” I say.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Battery-operated wall sconces, she says, are another inexpensive addition that can make an apartment feel homier.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
These colors work especially well in large, cavernous rooms and spaces in which the goal is to make a space feel less cavernous and homier and more comfortable.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 30, 2024
It was so much homier, so much more filling, so much more home-style than the other, oftentimes heinous lunch offerings.
From Salon ● Jan. 26, 2024
The softer light makes even the sparest of holiday décor feel homier.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 6, 2023
In time the place was homier than his own room at the Y. “How ’bout a corn muffin?” said Grayson, choosing something easy on his bad teeth and aching gums.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
And homiest of all is the shop’s impressive, one might even say fanatical, collection of those aforementioned typewriters.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
The homiest of the lot are “Northwest,” an ode to the PNW, and a loving number about Clark’s grandmother titled “She Smoked in the House.”
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2023
Dasani’s housefather tries to soften the landing by making his homiest dish — lasagna.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2021
In a trolley car that is rumored to have driven the capital’s streets between 1894 and 1912, Luxury Diner serves the city’s heartiest and homiest breakfast and lunch.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 10, 2019
The ward authorities had not been asked for a dollar to fit up the room, and yet it had one of the "homiest" atmospheres imaginable.
From Principles of Teaching by Adam S. Bennion
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