homey
1 Americanadjective
noun
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:
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
Inside the homey dining room and open kitchen, Cho blends the South Korean flavors of his birthplace with the European techniques he mastered as a chef in New York City.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
The homey feeling they shared was supported by a band that has the stylistic grace of a well-honed orchestra.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2025
It feels homey, like a place where I’d want to hang out and play board games.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
Riders usually schralp with the same group and coach all year, meaning the clocking of lots of good homeys and good times by closing day.
From Time Magazine Archive
Extras: "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
The doc has serious street cred when homeys start naming their mini shreds after him-yeah, you heard, people are naming their li'l ones Marco.
From Time Magazine Archive
A lot of your homeys aren't exactly up on the contest scene, but it seems like you've been a little more into contests lately.
From Time Magazine Archive
My moms don’t want to hear that, but if it weren’t for Wesley and my other homeys, I wouldn’t even be here, aiight?
From "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes
I always talk about that especially with my artist homies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2025
“It’s dedicated to the homies that passed away. It’s dedicated to everyone who’s part of this or however you want to put it. For me, it’s dedicated to this city.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2024
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
The next time Boyle saw Fernandez at Homeboy he was not encouraged, because Fernandez arrived “deep,” street slang for surrounding himself with other homies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2023
My mom's all proud of me for being smart, but most of my homies don't know I'm on the honor roll.
From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon
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
"It is still just the loveliest, homiest place in the world!"
From The Ranch Girls and Their Great Adventure by Vandercook, Margaret
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.
