home

1 of 4

noun

plural homes
1
a
: one's place of residence : domicile
has been away from home for two weeks
a place to call home
b
: house
several homes for sale in the area
2
: the social unit formed by a family living together
trying to make a good home for their children
comes from a loving home
3
a
: a familiar or usual setting : congenial environment
also : the focus of one's domestic attention
home is where the heart is
b
: habitat
the home of the kangaroo
The island is home to many species of birds.
4
a
: a place of origin
salmon returning to their home to spawn
also : one's own country
having troubles at home and abroad
b
: headquarters sense 2
home of the dance company
5
: an establishment providing residence and care for people with special needs
homes for the elderly
6
: the objective in various games
especially : home plate

home

2 of 4

adverb

1
: 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
2
a
: to a final, closed, or ultimate position
drive a nail home
b
: to or at an ultimate objective (such as a goal or finish line)
fired the puck home
3
: to a vital sensitive core
the truth struck home

home

3 of 4

adjective

1
: of, relating to, or being a place of residence, place of origin, or base of operations
the company's home office
2
: prepared, done, or designed for use in a home (see home entry 1)
home remedies
home cooking
a home entertainment system
3
: 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

1
: to go or return to one's place of residence or origin : to go or return home (see home entry 1)
let us home
2
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.
3
: 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 onJ. W. Noble
4
: to proceed or direct attention toward an objective
science is homing in on the mysterious human processSam Glucksberg

transitive verb

: to send to or provide with a home
hidden pools and much wider creeks each of which homed its cranesI. L. Idriess
Phrases
at home
1
: relaxed and comfortable : at ease
felt completely at home on the stage
2
: in harmony with the surroundings
3
: 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
Noun
The robbers allegedly found the home because Jackson posted a photo of a gift bag with the address listed on a label. Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2024 Coal, though, hits close to home for West Oakland residents who say their life expectancies have been reduced by a long history of industrial pollution — so city officials have fought for over a decade to prevent the substance from being shipped through the port. Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 Like the family’s own private boutique hotel, the home spans 27,000 square feet with 12 bedrooms and a mind-boggling 25 bathrooms. Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2024 The home with five bedrooms and 5 ½ bathrooms has inside walls of stone, walls of glass, a four-car garage and an outdoor fire feature. Catherine Reagor, The Arizona Republic, 11 Mar. 2024 Police found a missing 8-year-old dead in a Janesville home on Saturday night. David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2024 The photo was taken by Prince William, 41, earlier this week at the family's home in Windsor, according to the palace. Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 One longtime fan who calls Park City his second home is three-time Olympic Gold medalist Shaun White. Nina Kokotas Hahn, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Mar. 2024 Russian authorities have allegedly carried out police raids on Central Asian migrant homes in various cities, where those detained are sometimes pressured to enlist, according to the Associated Press. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024
Adverb
New Heights, hosted by Jason and Travis Kelce, took home the prize of podcast of the year at iHeartMedia’s 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards. Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024 Curtis also starred in the film and took home the win for Best Supporting Actress. Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024 Six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan – the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week with Dončić taking home the honor for the West – was held to only 13 points in a dismal shooting night for the whole squad. Sam Joseph, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 From its roots as a family getaway to growing into a cherished place to call home, this is the only place to experience a rhythm like this. Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2024 Oppenheimer racked up 13 Academy Award nominations and dominated the 2024 Golden Globes, taking home the top award for best drama. TIME, 11 Mar. 2024 Randolph took home an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Holdovers. Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 11 Mar. 2024 This time, Stone took home the award for her performance as Bella Baxter in Poor Things. Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 11 Mar. 2024 Glazer designed the film to never actually show what is unfolding inside the camp, instead relying on an eerie soundscape created by Johnnie Burn and Tarn Willers—both of whom took home the Oscar for Best Sound—that hints at the horrors. Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024
Adjective
The Buckeye State doesn't always get the best rap as an exciting place to visit, but the state is actually home to plenty of unique and charming small towns worth checking out. The Enquirer, 31 Jan. 2024 California is already home to some of the highest energy costs in the country, and those prices are only expected to rise as the state powers more of its economy with clean electricity. Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 12 Feb. 2024 Gift opening A couple of daughters are home for the holidays, and their parents (Johnson, McKinnon) appreciate having them back - and bringing their boyfriends. Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 17 Dec. 2023 Mayors Step Down From the Bench After WVUE, ProPublica Ask About Court Revenue Most of the 13 towns identified by the news organizations are home to just a few hundred people. Samantha Sunne, ProPublica, 14 Dec. 2023 The island's streets are home to wandering roosters, who are usually ready for a photo op (from a distance), and who also provide inspiration for local art found throughout the island. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 29 Nov. 2023 While the mother was not home when the incident took place, the NOFD found two of the children — a 5-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy — upon entry to the home. Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 19 Oct. 2023 The Canadian Rocky and Columbia Mountains are home to both grizzly and black bears, according to Parks Canada. Maham Javaid, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2023 Many Southern states are home to daily or weekly train rides ideal for seeing fall foliage—as well as autumn specials to get you and your family on the rails and making memories together this season. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2023
Verb
Oakland’s Cat Town was inspired by Ann Dunn, an Oakland animal shelter volunteer, who launched it as a fostering program based loosely on the concept of Japan’s cat cafes, group cat homes that people can visit. Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024 Plotts don’t have enough nose, and the 30 or so Kibler has owned over the years were weak in homing instinct. Bill Heavey, Field & Stream, 1 Feb. 2024 That gives Brienne Allan, the brewmaster and president, the ability to really home in and perfect the recipes. Tori Latham, Robb Report, 29 Jan. 2024 An arrow combined with the eye of a batlike enemy might track enemies like a homing missile. Zachary Small, New York Times, 4 May 2023 The Air Force plans to spend $320 million buying 1,500 units of the 204-pound munition, designed to home in on moving ground targets regardless of weather conditions or time of day. Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 9 Apr. 2023 Times like these provide an opportunity to home in on customers’ individual goals, values and motivations. Camille Nicita, Forbes, 8 Aug. 2022 Joy Fitzgerald, who just began her role at UnitedHealth but has also served in similar positions at Eli Lilly, wants to leverage the breadth of her experience and the data-gathering power of a health care giant with UnitedHealth's reach in order to home in on weak links in the medical supply chain. Sy Mukherjee, Fortune, 17 June 2021 This perverse programming created a Salmonella strain that could home in on the anoxic core of tumors, grow to high density, and release a highly localized dose of anti-tumor drug. Jeffrey Marlow, Discover Magazine, 26 Apr. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'home.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Dictionary Entries Near home

Cite this Entry

“Home.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/home. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

home

1 of 4 noun
1
a
: the house in which a person or family lives
2
: a family living together in one dwelling
3
: the place where something is usually or naturally found : habitat
the home of the elephant
4
a
: a place of origin
salmon returning to their home to spawn
b
: the country or place where one lives or where one's ancestors lived
5
: a place for the care of persons unable to care for themselves
old people's home
6
: the goal in some games
especially : home plate
homelike
-ˌlīk
adjective

home

2 of 4 adverb
1
: to or at home
went home
2
: to a final, closed, or standard position
drive a nail home
3
: deeply and meaningfully
the truth struck home

home

3 of 4 adjective
1
: of, relating to, or being a home
2
: prepared, done, or designed for use in a home
home cooking
3
: happening or operating in a home area
the home team

home

4 of 4 verb
homed; homing
1
: to go or return home
2
: 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 How to pronounce Home (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on home

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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