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SayHOHM/hoʊm/UK/həʊm/

Pluralhomes

Often confused with house

24 meanings of home

Practice

1
housenouncountable
The place where you live, especially with your family.
Like a nest a bird returns to for rest and safety.
We bought our first home last spring.
After the long trip, she was glad to be back in her home.
Similarhouse, residence, dwelling, place
Note
2
back to your houseadverb
To the place where you live, or back to the town or country you come from.
She drove home after work.
The kids walked home together.
UsageSay go home and come home, with no to.
Oppositeaway
Note
3
at your houseadverb
In or at the place where you live, not out.
I stayed home all weekend.
Is anyone home right now?
UsageYou can say stay home or stay at home.
Similarin, indoors
Oppositeout, away
Note
4
adjective
Done, made, used, or happening in your own house.
I really missed Grandma's home cooking while I was away.
She works from a home office in the spare bedroom.
UsageUsed before a noun: home cooking. Some are one word: homework.
Similarhomemade
Note
5
host teamadjective
About the team playing at its own field, not the visiting team.
Like playing a game in your own backyard instead of a stranger's.
The home crowd cheered every goal.
They have not lost a home game all year.
UsageThe other team is the away team.
Oppositeaway, visitor, road
6
nouncountable or uncountable
The natural place where a plant, animal, or thing is usually found or first appeared.
Like the special place where a kind of plant or animal naturally lives.
The dense rainforest is home to thousands of insect species.
Cold mountain streams are the natural home of many wild trout.
UsageSay a place is home to something, or is the home of something.
Similarhabitat, cradle, birthplace, origin
Note
7
where you're fromnouncountable or uncountable
The place where you grew up, such as your parents' house, or the town or country you come from.
Like the den where an animal was born and grew up.
She often talks about her home in the village where she was born.
I live in Chicago now, but home is still a small town in Ohio.
UsageLive at home means live with your parents. Leave home means move out.
Similarhometown, homeland
Note
8
own countryadjective
Belonging to your own country or area, not a foreign one.
She missed the food from her home country.
The factory sells mostly to the home market.
Similardomestic, local, national, native, internal
Oppositeforeign, overseas, international, external
9
nouncountable
A place where you feel you belong and feel safe and loved.
The shelter became a real home for the stray cats.
For the lonely students, the club felt like a home.
10
care institutionnouncountable
A place that gives shelter or care to those who need it, like old people or stray animals.
Her aunt lives in a home for the elderly.
The city opened a new home for families with nowhere to stay.
UsageSay a home for old people, or a children's home.
Similarinstitution, shelter, refuge
Note
11
baseball platenoununcountable
In baseball, the base a player must touch to score a point.
He rounded the bases and reached home safely.
The runner sprinted toward home as the crowd roared.
UsageSay slide into home, with no "the".
Similarplate
Note
12
website front pagenouncountable or uncountable
The first or main page of a website.
Click Home at the top of the screen to see the newest posts.
If you get lost on the site, go back to Home and start again.
Similarhomepage
Note

Less common meanings

13
adverb
Back to the first or main page of a website or app.
Tap the little house icon to go home and start over.
Click the logo to return home on most websites.
Note
14
fully feltadverb
In a full, direct way, right to the point.
The lesson finally hit home.
Her words struck home with everyone in the room.
UsageAs in: her words hit home; he drove the point home.
Note
15
end of a raceadverb
All the way into the right place, or to the end of a race.
Like pushing a drawer all the way shut until it can't go any further.
She hammered the nail home with three strong blows.
The young horse was last for most of the race but came home first.
UsageSay drive a nail home.
Note
16
return (animals)verbintransitive
To find the way back to its owner or base.
Like a magnet pulling a needle straight back to the same spot.
Racing pigeons can home across hundreds of miles.
The lost bird homed to its loft before dark.
Similarreturn
Note
17
afterlifenouncountable
A gentle word for the grave, or the place where the soul rests forever after death.
Like reaching the end of a long journey and finally resting.
Grandpa believed heaven would be his true home.
The little churchyard on the hill became her final home.
Similarheaven, rest, grave
Note
18
user foldernounabbreviationclipping
Short form of home directory: the main folder for your own files on a computer.
Save the file in your home and you'll find it again easily.
All her settings are stored in her home on the shared server.
Note
19
tonic chordnouncolloquialuncountable
In music, the main chord that a tune starts from and returns to.
Like leaving your house and always coming back to it.
The song keeps drifting away from home and then snapping back to it.
You can feel the music reach home when the last chord lands.
Similartonic
Note
20
board game goalnouncountable or uncountable
In a board game, the last spot a piece must reach to finish.
He needed one more roll to move his last token into its home.
Three of her pawns had reached home, but one was still stuck on the board.
Note
21
into the goaladverbUK
Into the goal in a game such as soccer, so that a goal is scored.
The striker slotted the ball home in the final minute.
She fired the penalty home to win the match.
Similarin
Oppositewide
Note
22
attacking positionnouncountable or uncountable
In lacrosse, the spot near the other team's goal, or the player who plays there.
In the second half of the lacrosse game, the coach put her at first home, right by the other team's goal.
Their best lacrosse player plays first home and waits near the goal for a pass.
Note
23
bluntadjectivearchaic
Going straight to the real point in a sharp and direct way.
My best friend told me a home truth: I never really listen to anyone.
The report was full of home truths that the company did not want to hear.
UsageMostly in home truth, a true thing that is hard to hear.
Note
24
adjectiveobsolete
Very personal, about your own private life.
Note

More uses

home into move straight toward a target, as in home in on

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of home apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Old English hām, going all the way back to very old Germanic and Indo-European words meaning 'home' or 'village'. It is related to German Heim, Dutch heem, and Swedish hem.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Home derives from Old English hām. en.wiktionary.org
Its Germanic ancestor meant 'home' or 'village'. en.wiktionary.org
Its reconstructed Indo-European ancestor meant 'home' or 'village'. en.wiktionary.org
Home is related to German Heim, Dutch heem, and Swedish hem. en.wiktionary.org