homing

American  

[hoh-ming] / ˈhoʊ mɪŋ /

adjective

1. capable of returning home, usually over a great distance.

   We saw the homing birds at dusk.

2. guiding or directing homeward or to a destination, especially by mechanical means.

   the homing instinct; a homing beacon.

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homing British  

/ ˈhəʊmɪŋ /

noun

1. zoology relating to the ability to return home after travelling great distances

   homing instinct

2. (of an aircraft, a missile, etc) capable of guiding itself onto a target or to a specified point

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Etymology

Origin of homing

First recorded in 1860–65; home + -ing ²

Example Sentences

To get to and from his classroom, Elroy jets through a series of air tubes called the “school homing network.”

From The Wall Street Journal

They used an Iranian-provided surface-to-air missile that can loiter in the sky before homing in on heat from the drones.

From The Wall Street Journal

They equipped astrocytes, a common type of brain cell, with a CAR homing device that allows the cells to latch onto specific targets and destroy them.

From Science Daily

Gorman said in an interview that the succession committee considered more than 100 people before homing in on several internal and external candidates.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I used Nansi’s divine magics to save you. Which means that the god now has a homing beacon. One that shows him exactly where we are.”

From Literature