home

1 of 4

noun

ˈhōm

plural homes

Synonyms of home next

: one's place of residence : domicile

has been away from home for two weeks

a place to call home

: house

several homes for sale in the area

: the social unit formed by a family living together

trying to make a good home for their children

comes from a loving home

: a familiar or usual setting : congenial environment

also : the focus of one's domestic attention

home is where the heart is

: habitat

the home of the kangaroo

The island is home to many species of birds.

: a place of origin

salmon returning to their home to spawn

also : one's own country

having troubles at home and abroad

: headquarters sense 2

home of the dance company

: an establishment providing residence and care for people with special needs

homes for the elderly

: the objective in various games

especially : home plate

home

2 of 4

adverb

: to or at one's place of residence or home (see home entry 1 sense 1a)

told the dog to go home

stayed home all day

: to a final, closed, or ultimate position

drive a nail home

: to or at an ultimate objective (such as a goal or finish line)

fired the puck home

: to a vital sensitive core

the truth struck home

home

3 of 4

adjective

: of, relating to, or being a place of residence, place of origin, or base of operations

the company's home office

: prepared, done, or designed for use in a home (see home entry 1)

home remedies

home cooking

a home entertainment system

: operating or occurring in an area that is a headquarters or base of operations

the home team

home games

home

4 of 4

verb

homed; homing

intransitive verb

: to go or return to one's place of residence or origin : to go or return home (see home entry 1)

let us home

of an animal : to return accurately to one's native area of place of birth or origin from a distance : to return home

The salmon will home to spawn.

: to move to or toward an objective by following a signal or landmark

—usually used with on or in

missiles homing in on a target

mariners … sought the dark spires of Oakland's redwoods to home on—

J. W. Noble

: to proceed or direct attention toward an objective

science is homing in on the mysterious human process—

Sam Glucksberg

transitive verb

: to send to or provide with a home

hidden pools and much wider creeks each of which homed its cranes—

I. L. Idriess

Phrases

at home

: relaxed and comfortable : at ease

felt completely at home on the stage

: in harmony with the surroundings

: on familiar ground : knowledgeable

teachers at home in their subject fields

home free

: out of jeopardy : in a comfortable position with respect to some objective

Examples of home in a Sentence

Noun Right now his home is a small apartment. People are concerned about protecting their homes. They have a second home on the lake. There's no place like home. I must have left my notes at home. She made a good home for her husband and children. The islands are home to many species of birds. Can you find homes for these files in your office? Adverb She called home to say she would be late for dinner. He's sending money home from a job overseas. She is on her way home. It's great to be back home. I can't wait to come home. He used a hammer to drive the nail home. Adjective She has a happy home life. Please give us your home phone number. What is your home address? The team opens its home season in just two weeks.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Noun

Additionally check for damage to systems like plumbing, electrical, or heating plus, trees, fences, or damage to the exterior of your home like a deck. —

Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 22 Nov. 2024 Antiaircraft fire kept the bombers so high, however, that aim was difficult to manage, and the bombs fell indiscriminately, destroying more than 4,300 homes while damaging three-quarters of the city's factories. —

Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 22 Nov. 2024

Adverb

There are currently 144 billionaires who call the concrete jungle home, adding nine more since last year. —

Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 21 Nov. 2024 Even the dead are expected to return home when hostilities cease, whenever that may be. —

Rania Abouzeid, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024

Adjective

Netanyahu and his wife were not home when the incident happened, his spokesperson told Fox News. —

Landon Mion, Fox News, 19 Oct. 2024 Its vast prairies, badlands, and river valleys are home to bison, wild horses, and prairie dogs. —

Judy Koutsky, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024

Verb

At the same time, homing spikes shoot out from Hazard’s back toward nearby enemies. —

Kris Holt, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024 Their Hickory Hill estate in McLean, Va. was a rotating roster of secretaries of state, film stars and celebrities along with snakes, ponies, horses, hamsters, homing pigeons, ducks, geese, cockatoos and a huge turtle. —

Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 10 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for home

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English hom, hoome "dwelling, building, one's native town or land," going back to Old English hām "landed property, estate, dwelling, house, inhabited place, native land," going back to Germanic *haima- "dwelling" (whence also Old Saxon & Old Frisian hēm "home, dwelling," Middle Dutch heem, heim "dwelling," Old High German heima "dwelling, homeland," Old Norse heimr "abode, land, this world," Gothic haims "village, countryside, [in compounds] home"), of uncertain origin

Note: A widely accepted etymology sees Germanic *haima- as going back to Indo-European *ḱoi-mo, an o-grade derivative, with a suffix *-mo-, of the verbal base *ḱei- "lie, be at rest." Also from *ḱoi-mo- would be an assumed Greek *koímē or *koîmos "bed," the source of the denominal derivative koimáō, koimân "to put to bed, lay to rest" (see cemetery); further associated are Lithuanian šeimà "family, household members (including servants)," Latvian sàime, Russian Church Slavic sěmĭ "person," sěmija, translating Greek andrápoda "prisoners of war sold as slaves," sěminŭ "slave, household member," Russian sem'já "family," Ukrainian sim'já. (Lithuanian kiẽmas "farmstead, village" and káimas "village" are perhaps related, via a form with a centum outcome of ḱ, or as a loanword from Germanic.) According to an alternative hypothesis, Germanic *haima- goes back to Indo-European *tḱoi̯-mo-, a derivative with *-mo- from Indo-European *tḱei̯- "dwell, inhabit" (in a more traditional representation *ḱþei̯-; see amphictyony). Directly comparable would be Sanskrit kṣémaḥ "habitable," kṣémaḥ or -am (noun) "calm, quiet, safety," which within Sanskrit are direct derivatives from kṣéti "(s/he) dwells." The Baltic and Slavic forms cited above would then be attributable to this form.

Adverb

Middle English hom, going back to Old English hām, probably from accusative of hām "dwelling, home entry 1" (with parallel forms in other Germanic languages)

Adjective

from attributive use of home entry 1

Verb

derivative of home entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1802, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler

The first known use of home was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Phrases Containing home

Articles Related to home

Is it 'home in' or 'hone in'?

Both are used, but 'home in' does a better job of hitting the mark.

A Journey Around the House in 8 Words

Fancy names for common parts

8 Words from Around the House

The stories behind everyday things

Cite this Entry

Style

“Home.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/home. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

home

1 of 4 noun

ˈhōm

: the house in which a person or family lives

: house entry 1 sense 1

: a family living together in one dwelling

: the place where something is usually or naturally found : habitat

the home of the elephant

: a place of origin

salmon returning to their home to spawn

: the country or place where one lives or where one's ancestors lived

: a place for the care of persons unable to care for themselves

old people's home

: the goal in some games

especially : home plate

homelike

-ˌlīk

adjective

home

2 of 4 adverb

: to or at home

went home

: to a final, closed, or standard position

drive a nail home

: deeply and meaningfully

the truth struck home

home

3 of 4 adjective

: of, relating to, or being a home

: prepared, done, or designed for use in a home

home cooking

: happening or operating in a home area

the home team

home

4 of 4 verb

homed; homing

: to go or return home

: to send to or provide with a home

Etymology

Noun

Middle English hom, from Old English hām "village, home"

Biographical Definition

Home 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈhyüm

ˈhōm

Sir Alec Douglas- 1903–1995 British prime minister (1963–64)

Home

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

William Douglas- 1912–1992 brother of Alec Douglas-Home British dramatist

Last Updated: 25 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

obfuscate

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

home

noun

adverb

adjective

verb

Synonyms

Examples of home in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near home

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Biographical Definition

biographical name (1)

biographical name (2)