home (həum) noun
1. the house, town, country etc where a person etc usually lives. I work in London but my home is in Bournemouth; When I retire, I'll make my home in Bournemouth; Africa is the home of the lion; We'll have to find a home for the kitten.
2. the place from which a person, thing etc comes originally. America is the home of jazz.
3. a place where children without parents, old people, people who are ill etc live and are looked after. an old folk's home; a nursing home.
4. a place where people stay while they are working. a nurses' home.
5. a house. Crumpy Construction build fine homes for fine people; He invited me round to his home.
adjective
1. of a person's home or family. home comforts.
2. of the country etc where a person lives. home produce.
3. (in football) playing or played on a team's own ground. the home team; a home game.
adverb
1. to a person's home. I'm going home now; Hallo – I'm home!
2. completely; to the place, position etc a thing is intended to be. He drove the nail home; Few of his punches went home; These photographs of the war brought home to me the suffering of the soldiers.
ˈhomeless noun plural, adjective
(people) without a place to live in. This charity was set up to help the homeless; homeless people.
ˈhomely adjective
1. simple but pleasant. homely food.
2. making a person feel he is at home. a homely atmosphere.
3. (American) (of a person) not attractive; ugly.
ˈhomeliness noun
ˈhoming adjective
1. (of pigeons etc) which (can) fly home when set free a long way from home.
2. able to take a missile etc to its target. These torpedoes have homing devices in their noses.
ˈhome-coming noun
1. the return home of a person (who has been away for some time). We had a party to celebrate his home-coming.
2. (American) an annual event held by a college, a university or high school for former students.
ˌhome-ˈgrown adjective
grown in one's own garden or in one's own country. These tomatoes are home-grown.
ˈhomeland noun
a person's native land. Immigrants often weep for their homeland.
ˌhome-ˈmade adjective
made by a person at home; not professionally made. home-made jam; home-made furniture.
home rule
the government of a country or part of a country by its own citizens.
ˈhomesick adjective
missing one's home. When the boy first went to boarding-school he was very homesick.
ˈhomesickness noun
ˈhomestead (-sted) noun
a house, especially a farm, with the land and other buildings (eg barns) which belong to it, especially in the United States, Australia etc.
home truth
a plain statement of something which is unpleasant but true (about a person, his behaviour etc) said directly to the person. It's time someone told him a few home truths.
ˈhomeward adjective
going home. his homeward journey.
ˈhomeward(s) adverb
towards home. his journey homeward; He journeyed homewards.
ˈhomework noun
work or study done at home, especially by a school pupil. Finish your homework!
at home
1. in one's home. I'm afraid he's not at home.
2. (in football etc) in one's own ground. The team is playing at home today.
be/feel at home
to feel as relaxed as one does in one's own home or in a place or situation one knows well. I always feel at home in France; He's quite at home with cows – he used to live on a farm.
home in on
to move towards (a target etc). The missile is designed to home in on aircraft.
leave home
1. to leave one's house. I usually leave home at 7.30 a.m.
2. to leave one's home to go and live somewhere else. He left home at the age of fifteen to get a job in Australia.
make oneself at home
to make oneself as comfortable and relaxed as one would at home. Make yourself at home!
nothing to write home about